Sweden-based photographer Johnny Kääpä has spent the last few years capturing pictures of wild squirrels in their natural habitat. Offering us a glimpse into their world, and sharing a mutli-faceted view of these cute tree-climbing rodents.
At first thought, sitting around waiting for squirrels may sound boring, his photos prove otherwise. His incredible snaps manage to portray these animals experiencing and displaying a wide range of human-like emotions.
In spite of his obvious talent, Kääpä wasn’t initially interested in photography! His driving passion was filmmaking and editing.
The necessity of purchasing a camera to pursue film naturally led him to still photography. And as they say, the rest is history.
Kääpä’s goal for his photography is to find new ways to capture pictures that are fresh to him, and that capture a feeling. It’s impossible to know for sure whether squirrels have emotions similar to humans, besides hunger, fear, and tiredness, but it’s nice to think that they do.
Typically, Kääpä aims to shoot these stills just as they are in nature, making a point to avoid adding any manmade objects, with the exception of a heart he carved out of an apple. Which truly, made for quite an adorable photograph.
Out of the “literally millions” of pictures he’s taken, we’ve nabbed 50 of the best. Continue reading to see these amazing photographs, and keep in mind, these are made with skill, luck, and zero Photoshop.