While isolating in her home during the COVID-19 pandemic, wildlife conservation photographer Carla Rhodes actually ended up getting closer to her neighbors–the animals in her backyard.

Using a technique called “camera trapping,” where the camera senses the animal’s motion and automatically takes a photo, Rhodes was able to capture her animal subjects’ natural behaviors without human interference. Much of her work to get the best shot involves setting up the camera with ideal lighting, background, and creating an inviting space for the subjects to enter the frame. When they do, the close-up shots of their faces, wings, and tails are a surprising delight.

Carla Rhodes’s “Beneath the Birdfeeder” project captures familiar birds, squirrels, and other backyard critters in an intimate, formerly unseen way. She hopes that by getting to see animals “on our level,” we learn to love, respect, and protect the wildlife we normally see from a distance.