-
Finally, a fox
Last year I stumbled upon an unused earth which was occupied for a day or two (vixen was perhaps moving her family to another area) and I managed to get some noisy pictures. This year i have been watching an earth for a while with no photographic success, the little monsters were just too shy (foxes are very shy here in Bavaria due to hunting). They also have 5 entrances to chose from, all of them behind trees and nettles. But now they are maybe 1 month old they are getting bold. Finally after a week of camera trap work, to find the best times, I sat on Friday in the pouring rain. I sat and I sat. I got wet. Then, like magic, the sun came out :o
5DIII, 500 f4 @ f4 (BG is busy, especially with sun on wet vegetation) ISO400, 1/4000sec (yes next time I will drop my ISO ;) ) Continuous stealth mode (5DIII beats the any 1D body on this!)
The sun made it a bit contrasty but it was after 6PM so not too harsh and right behind me. Hope you like this as much as I enjoyed sitting there watching 4 mini predators for 20 minutes!
-
BPN Member
Hi Neil,
your patience paid off, finally.really worth the wait and effort.
Like the light, the tones and the colors.Reducing contrast on BKG would help to knock it down a bit .
Why would go less with the ISO ? Think on your kit you can push the ISO .......... to a lot more .Look at my seal image (what you have already done) ISO 20000.I think you can push the 5D close to that .
Image looks a fraction over sharpened , watching from Laptop so not ideal.
TFS Andreas
BTW are you based in Germany ? Where ?
-
Post a Thank You. - 1 Thanks
-
Hi Andreas. I am down close to Munich, work in Munich in fact. Sharpening for web was never my strong point ;) as for the ISO, I could have dropped further due to the 1/4000 sec shutter speed :o Don't think I even managed to shoot that fast :) ISO400 is nice though on the 5D. I did not want to push the aperture too far as I wanted the BG to stay as blurred as possible, it is too close to the stump but my angles are limited (why do foxes choose such corners?) ;)
Danke!
-
Wildlife Moderator
Hi Neil, nice work, it's great when a plan comes to fruition.
Would prefer a bit more DoF as you had the SS, think there is enough distance between subject & BKG to still retain a 'blurred' BKG, especially with the compression of the 500. I agree on the 'stealth' factor as it has I understand the quietist shutter, would be good to have one in a couple of months time for something, but cannot justify it just for 4-6 weeks usage 
. Like the composition placing the subject to the RHS with space to the left, the tree stump makes for a good seating area too. Personally I might even out the BKG top right, the darker area is slightly distracting I feel.
Image looks a fraction over sharpened , watching from Laptop so not ideal.
Agree, but same position as Andreas.
BTW just be careful where you walk, fox stuff stinks! The other issue is that Mum often changes den if she feels the cubs are threatened, sorry.
Hope to see more Neil.
TFS
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
-
Post a Thank You. - 1 Thanks
-
Lifetime Member
Hi Neil - your patience certainly paid off. I like the stump and the comp with the fox looking to the left. It does look oversharpened, particularly the head is looking a little crunchy. I find wet fur is more difficult to sharpen, it tends to look oversharpened a bit more quickly. Curious if you applied a vignette as the corners all look a little darker? If it were mine, I would bring down the highlights just slightly with a luminosity mask at about 30%. Looking forward to seeing more.
TFS,
Rachel
-
Post a Thank You. - 1 Thanks
-
BPN Member
Lovely angle and eye contact, and great job pushing through with your plan. 
I agree with Rachel on the luminosity adjustment and with others on the sharpness (NOT viewing on laptop).
-
Post a Thank You. - 1 Thanks
-
Thanks guys. So far I have not encountered mother, I do think she arrives from the back of the den to avoid the nettles, which are now 2 foot high. Stupid me has to sit in them of course ;) When visiting I touch nothing, if I need to garden the nettle tips it is with a sharp blade, again not touching. Limiting my visits to 1-2 hrs also lowers the chance of mummy or daddy finding me. So far they seem most active at 6PM, perhaps they start to get hungry.
Will post another with comments noted.
Reply With Quote
