Foxes in the backyard

[Allen Sparks]

Earlier this Spring there had been rumors of foxes being present in my neighborhood but I hadn't been so lucky to catch a glimpse of any of them. One morning I was sitting on my backyard deck watching the birds come to my bird feeders when suddenly a full grown fox emerged from the woods and crouched in the field behind my house. I nearly fell out of my chair as I raced inside to grab my camera (I had unsuccessfully tried for birds earlier that morning). I went hurriedly along the short trail to the field and took the first shot you see here of the adult fox with two of her kits. I positioned myself at wood's edge and was able to snap the kits playing (second and third image shown) - unfortunately the grass was quite tall in the field as you can see. After a while they all went to the back edge of the field and then back into the woods. I returned to the field the next day (in full camo this time) and waited until one of the kits returned - see last image. There are still reports of the foxes being in the neighborhood but I have not had the fortune of seeing them since. I thought I was quite lucky to be able to see these beautiful animals practically in my own backyard and take a few pics on the fly.

[Glennie Passier]

Allan, what a lovely story. I don't mind the long grass at all..for me, it gives them a sense of place. I really love the first one...and I'm thinking it's because of the the eye contact.

It's beautiful to see foxes where they belong.

Thank you for sharing!

[Gabriela Plesea]

Indeed a lovely story Allen, so thank you so much for your contribution to this Forum.

Very special images of those foxes and my favourite is certainly the first frame where you captured so much expression from all three characters.

Love the inquisitive look on the subjects' faces. The lush environment and those pretty flowers add cheerfulness to an already happy scene.

Some of the frames above appear to be a tad darker than the others, I take it this has to do with processing and therefore an easy fix. Try to follow the same steps in the future when you do PP work on a series, it helps a lot with the continuity of the story. This isn't a rule as such and one could process differently when one has a purpose in mind, such as emphasising a certain event or emotion. I do prefer in general to have a smoothly joined story, but I agree from time to time it is nice to do something different.

Should you wish to receive comments of a more technical nature, you are welcome to add the EXIF Data in the future.

I enjoyed viewing your story sequence tremendously. I am about to go to work now and viewing this thread has been a pleasant start of the day for me, thank you so much for sharing. I sincerely hope to see more from you in this Forum.

Kind regards,

[John Hackney]

Great shots. I too think the long grass is fine as it is part of the environment and actually adds to the story.