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Red Fox visitor

This is the same young fox as my other fox in the snow pictures. She was SO curious!

This is the same young fox as my other fox in the snow pictures. She was SO curious!
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Canon EOS 50D

settings

Aperture f/4 ISO 400 Shutter 1/1000 Focal Length 144/1

upload_date

Nov, 2017

Views

422

Likes

+75

Awards

Winner in amazing foxes Photo Challenge

Peer Award

+33

Top Choice

Absolute Masterpiece

Magnificent Capture

All Star

Superb Composition

Superior Skill

Genius

Emotions

Impressed

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

This beautiful young fox came exploring right in my back yard a few years ago. Se was very curious about all the bird feeders and suet around, and tried to catch a squirrel without success.

Time

This was taken around 10 AM in February. I just happened to look out my window and saw her exploring my property. She was pretty casual. I took a lot of pictures through the windows and then opened the front door just a crack to get a better exposure. I think the expression on her face was because she heard the door creak. I froze! But she didn't run away-she seemed more curious than frightened.

Lighting

The light was good- bright but not sunny. The white snow provided good contrast for her beautiful coat.

Equipment

I grabbed my Canon 50D (which I no longer have). I had , luckily, a Canon 70-200L lens on it- great for zooming in and out and not getting too close. This was taken at f/4, shutter speed 1/1000 at ISO 400, spot metering.

Inspiration

I am always looking for wildlife-mostly birds, to photograph. I love foxes- this was such an opportunity! Although I am sometimes lucky to see animals where I live, they don't usually visit my yard and hang around for photo portraits! I am always looking for signs of the presence of a fox-they are one of my favorite animals.

Editing

I am sure I did some post-processing with the snow and background but as this was taken a while ago, I don't remember all the details. I think there was some debris on the ground that I probably cloned out. I generally sharpen my pictures because I shoot raw, , but this one didn't need much. P.S. I looked up the original image. I feel I could do a better job post processing this image now- it is a bit "noisy" It was fairly small , so I used a program to enlarge it and did some other Photoshop refinements. I may post the refined version just for comparison.

In my camera bag

Although I still have some Canon equipment, I switched to Nikon this year, mostly in the interest of carrying lighter gear. I use a Nikon D500, a 300 f/4 lens with a 1.4 tele-converter to carry around. I rarely use a tripod, but I do have a Tamron 150-600 G2 for shots with a tripod or from my car. That lens is too heavy for much hand-holding. I use a Black Rapid strap to carry my camera, and an Induro tripod and gimbal head for tripod shots. Generally I go for longer lenses , given my preference for small moving objects at a distance, such as birds and wildlife. This enables me to keep my distance from them and not disturb them-that's very important to me. I also have a pocket camera-a Canon G7XII, for grabbing scenery shots and close-ups.

Feedback

I think you have to be ready to grab a camera at any time-I usually have my cameras ready to shoot somewhere in my house or car. I am always looking around, listening, following tracks, and generally trying to stay attuned to what is going on around me. I think the most important thing is that kind of awareness, wherever you are-looking around, and knowing your settings for whatever circumstances you find yourself in. That said, with an opportunity such as this one, I didn't have much time to fiddle with the camera. I had it set for possible bird sightings, so it worked well, luckily. I probably checked exposure compensation and ISO, given the bright snow. Although I would advise getting out as much as possible, this one came to me! Still, I would say, get out there and shoot. I use burst mode for most wildlife -animals move a lot. Many pictures are blurry, but one in a sequence can be just right. Please, when you are photographing wildlife, respect that animal's needs and it's habitat. Do not disturb them in their activities just to get a great shot. Enjoy!

See more amazing photos, follow animalartist

animalartist

animalartist

Red Fox visitor

This is the same young fox as my other fox in the snow pictures. She was SO curious!

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow animalartist

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