I’m not sure if there’s much curiosity out there about how I’ve been capturing images of small rodents these past six months, but I thought it might be fun to share the process.
Pictured above is the most recent edition of what I fondly call “Rat Theater“. The basic ingredient, or foundation of the theater, is the aquarium, which I’ve broken out the bottom glass. The entrance is through a hole cut in the middle of the screen top. The left glass panel has a hole cut into it with a door piece that blocks the hole until I’m ready to open to remove the animal. As Snagglepuss would say, “Exit, stage left”, and back into the Sherman trap whence it came. Snap goes the trapdoor, safely removing the animal, and the stage is ready for the next actor. The native surroundings provide the stage props, both inside and out. To provide the look and feel of locations the subject might find on its home turf, I arrange rocks, sticks, grass, cactus, and shrubs. Color corrected (adjustable) lights rest on the overhead screen, and I lay on my belly and take pictures.
I’ve modified the setup slightly each time I set up the stage. I try out variations of the theme with each new effort, based on observations from the results of the previous session. Sound like fun?
