Resting-12052015
Finally had a chance to get out and look for the fox. Well worth leaving the house at the crack of stupid.
Finally had a chance to get out and look for the fox. Well worth leaving the house at the crack of stupid.
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Dec, 2015Views
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Call Of The Wild Photo Contest
Featured
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Vol 26
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Love it
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Outstanding Creativity
Genius
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. This is one of my favourite places to go, there is always something special there. It's a 4.5 hour drive and I have driven out there just to shoot the morning blue hour only to start heading home by 8:00am. There are many things to shoot there and we have spent many days and nights there during all the seasons.Time
I actually arrived a little later than I had wanted to; I like to be at a location first thing in the morning. I arrived at about 8:30 and worked with the foxes, blue jays and gray jays until lunch time. This fox put on a show then decided to rest and watched us photography his mate and the birds.Lighting
The sun was strong which caused harsh shadows as well as some really awesome spot lighting. The fox in the image was in the comfort of the shade on the forest floor.Equipment
I used a Nikon D4s with a 300mm f2.8. I love the freedom of handholding especially with wildlife, so I usually do not use a tripod. There is a place to use tripods, flashes and filters, but when I work the field shoot different subjects I handhold.Inspiration
Everything and anything inspires my photography. Algonquin Park is a place I love to go, so I would say it is the magic of the location the took me there and keeps taking me back.Editing
I do a lot in-camera; such as playing with different exposures and lighting angles. This particular image has a tiny bit of sharpening and some vignetting. I reason I did the vignetting is because I was making a large canvas art piece which wraps around to black.In my camera bag
Well that totally depends on the shoot. Many times I only take one lens, force myself to shoot with lenses that are not conventional for that specific shoot. e.g. I will take a telephoto lens to a landscape shoot or an wide angle to shoot owls and eagles. When I go and do a multi-subject shoot, my bag consists of a Nikon D4s, 14-24mm f2.8, 24-70mm f2.8, 70-200mm f2.8, and 500mm f4. I also keep a 1.4 and 2 x teleconverter, remote trigger, CP and ND filters, speedlight, batteries, cards and cleaning cloths. Depending on where I am going, I may put in my 105mm f2.8 and/or 300mm f2.8. I always keep a tripod and stool in the car. The non-gear that I keep in my camera bag is bug spray, lightweight shirt, wool socks, Tylenol, carabiners, flex tie straps and a utility tool. I know that sounds a little off and excessive, but it doesn't take that much space in a good bag and it is always useful (eg for creating perches etc). Once I was shooting a seascape on a beach during a Canadian winter day before everything froze over when I got hit by a wave. My coat was snow pants were soaked and my boots were filled with ice water. I could take the wet outerlayer off but I need to keep my feet warm and dry in the car; from that point I always keep wool socks in my bag.Feedback
One thing that newbies don't understand is that some images don't just happen when your want them to. You may have done the research, prepped, have the gear and are ready to shoot; then nothing happens. Sometimes someone will give you the location and you may hit it lucky, but this is not norm. You have to be ready for anything and willing to change what you are shooting. Patience is important. Sometimes it takes years to get an image; repeated visits at different times of the day, year, season. You have to make sure you have the logistics down as well, sometimes images just can't be had with what you have in your camera bag or your location, weather, etc. I find the best images that I have taken and seen are those that most people are not willing to do. eg. heading out to a location at 2am. Example of logistics and doing something that most people wouldn't do: there is an iconic natural structure that my photo partner and I wanted to shoot during sunrise, sunset and with stars. We knew that the location was where there was next to no light pollution. Logistics: We check for the dates with a new moon, then it was a matter of watching the weather reports (and special apps) for no cloud cover. The location was a provincial park that is only open certain times of the year and only accessible by boat and has no amenities. The weather was right and we headed up (4 hrs drive). We had to register on the island and book the a zodiac to and from the island. We brought some snacks, chairs, warm clothes and a blanket along with our gear. After an hour on the zodiac we hiked with all our gear for about an hour then set up while we still had some light. We did our shoot over night while the mosquitoes were in a frenzy (not even the strongest repellent kept them off). After the sun was up, we were done and hiked back to dock where we slept for a few minutes. I got my image but would like to try something else, but I have been trying to get up there again for the last 2 years but the logistics have not lined up to get back there. How is this advice for capturing something similar: easy, be there, do what it takes and if it doesn't happen go back until it happens.
