If you're looking to put a smile on your face, look no further than these photos of adorable harvest mice frolicking in tulips. Taken by professional photographer Miles Herbert of CaptiveLight Photography, the pictures capture the playful personalities of these little creatures. Harvest mice are already cute on their own, but pairing them with vibrant tulips somehow enhances their charm.
Photography comes naturally to Herbert, whose father worked for Kodak. Being raised around cameras and learning the basics from his father encouraged him to pursue this path professionally. And as he lives in the countryside, it was only natural for him to incorporate nature and animals into his work.
Now he runs CaptiveLight Photography, where he teaches workshops on how to photograph animals—including harvest mice. These creatures are not only cute but inquisitive, which makes them the perfect models for photographers. For Herbert, it's important to make sure these mice are both comfortable and well-cared for so that they live their best life in addition to posing for striking photographs.
“Harvest mice have so much character about them even though they are so small,” he tells My Modern Met. “Because the mice are hand-reared from quite young, they just regard me as one of them and are not the least bit scared or intimidated by me or anything going on around them. Quite often they will try to steal a piece of food from my hand and push me away from it until they get what they want. Most of the harvest mice that we photograph are indoors inside a studio, so it's important that the mice are totally at home in their surroundings and for them, it is just another normal day.”
Herbert's efforts to care for the mice are evident in the quality of his photographs. As these mice snuggle into the tulips and peer out at their surroundings, they're completely as ease. By allowing them to get comfortable, Herbert is able to capture these adorable creatures as they go about their routine.
So what does Herbert think the key to good animal photography is? “Patience… you need patience, animals have a way of doing things in their own time and you need that patience to be there and ready when it (finally) happens.”
Miles Herbert specializes in photographs of adorable harvest mice.
He often photographs them as they frolic in colorful tulips.
The mice are hand-reared so they're comfortable with Herbert and his cameras.
This makes for incredibly cute photographs that are sure to make you smile.
