A sign on the wall told of Ricky the Raccoon who likes
to visit late at night. Mostly it stood as a warning not to
get too close to wild animals, but it also encouraged leaving
scraps of food on the deck. On the menu this night: a few fries
and a black angus burger that fell off the grill.
Sequence of events leading up to this shot:
I had set up the tripod next to the windows a little after midnight when everyone
went to bed. Then I sat in the dark and waited.. and waited... and waited. The sign
said he usually shows up not long after 10pm, so I just knew he'd be along
any time. Eventually I gave up and changed plans.
I moved the tripod back to the kitchen counter and set the camera for a long
exposure to capture the living room shadows and distant city lights. An hour and
a half after waiting for Ricky, he showed up 10 seconds into my first long
exposure shot, triggering the outside motion detector light.
Ricky is a big raccoon.