Can you ever get enough funny animal photos? Yeah, me neither. Belgium-based photographer Niki Colemont (previously) has us covered with our daily dose of cuteness. He’s been capturing red squirrels and their little adventures, and in his recent series, he brings us squirrels vs. dinosaurs! It’s definitely a combo you don’t see every day, and yes – it’s as weird and cute as it sounds.
This series is Niki’s tribute to his childhood obsession, filtered through the lens of his current favorite subject: red squirrels. As a child, Niki was always playing with dinosaurs. I remember my younger brother having the same obsession, but Niki raised it to a new level. He had inflatable dinos to ride, a dinosaur encyclopedia to read over and over, and of course, the magic of Spielberg’s Jurassic Park to fuel his imagination. So, his idea to bring dinosaurs and squirrels together just made sense.
Finding Peace in Photography
Niki’s light-hearted work comes from a place of resilience. He’s a survivor of the Rwandan genocide, having fled to Belgium at the age of four. Today, he finds peace in the quiet rhythms of wildlife photography with squirrels as “perfect models.
During a visit to his girlfriend’s grandmother in 2016, Niki spotted a bird through the window. He grabbed his camera and started photographing it, and the rest is history, as they say. For his 30th birthday that same year, he gifted himself a Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 lens and a stealth gear hide tent. And this is when his journey into wildlife photography began.
No Photoshop, Just Patience
What makes Niki’s work especially impressive is that he doesn’t use Photoshop to composite his images. Sure, squirrels vs. dinosaurs look like something you’d make as a composite, or let generative AI imagine it. But Niki finds joy in capturing everything on the spot. He takes his time, allowing the squirrels to get used to his presence. They also need to warm up to the props (in this case, that means tiny plastic dinosaurs). And as you can see, the results speak for themselves.
Niki’s goal isn’t fame or viral success (though his photos have that potential). He simply wants to keep doing what he loves, sharing nature’s joy, and maybe snag a few photography contest wins along the way. He says that this hobby brings him a lot of joy – and honestly, I feel that. In a world that can feel heavy, there’s something deeply comforting about observing and photographing nature’s creatures. And adding some quirk to your photos by throwing in unexpected guests like dinosaurs.
I leave you now to smile at the rest of the photos from this series. Also, make sure to follow Niki’s other work on his website, Instagram and Facebook.
