Another sequence of the local rats at Falmer Pond. Generally the rats stay around the banks of the pond where they have extensive runs and ready access to bread thrown for the ducks and gulls. They are very easy to miss as they tend to stay in the undergrowth, but quite obvious if you keep your eyes open. As photographic subjects they are wonderfully entertaining and the location tends to show them at their best.
These were taken in mid December 2014. The camera is the Canon EOS 7D Mark II, and the lens the EF 100-400mm f/4/5-5.6L IS II USM (ie also the mark II version). Most of the shots were taken at ISO 1600 (the first two are ISO 3200) with the lens wide open (f/5.6). Generally the shutter speed is low. There is very little post-processing (I ran them through DPP 4 and then used Photoshop for the final prep for the web which amounts to just a touch of sharpening). Given my limitations as a photographer, the images demonstrate the excellent quality of both Mark IIs (the camera and the lens). Everything is hand-held.
