Fox cub

[Neil Burton]

Another go. I have had a bit of an overhaul of my Lightroom process (yes Steve my bruises are still blue). This one I took last night, they seem to come out at 7PM and usually only 1 or 2 cubs.

5DIII, 200-400 @ 388mm, f6.3 ISO800, 80(ish)% crop

[keith mitchell]

Hi Neil, looked hard can't find a fault, cub looks great on it's mossy rostrum with a great playful pose ,like it a lot Neil.


Cheers Keith,

[Andy Shepherd]

Cracking shot, matey. That 200-400 is looking mighty sharp!!!

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Neil - It all works for me. Colors, comp, sharpness and detail all look good. Congrats on this one.

TFS,
Rachel

[edwardselfe]

Looks lovely. The late evening light makes for no shadows and that's very nice. I love it.
Might perhaps reduce overall brightness a little - for me, such a bright image should have some shadows, so I might darken slightly to give it some mood. Just personal preference though.
Very sharp and nicely processed.
Ed

[Neil Burton]

Thanks all.

Ed, the sun was in and out and in this case behind a thin white cloud. Not often I can get nice lighting but in this case worked out. :)

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Neil, throw me on this one, thought you might have posted a different one, however I think this is perhaps better.

I have had a bit of an overhaul of my Lightroom process (yes Steve my bruises are still blue).

Neil I am constantly overhauling my workflow, albeit with minor tweaks, but I think based on this is looking good.

The lens is the perfect tool for this work as it has the flexibility you need, only used my 500 for one day, the other 10 days were with this lens, sweet! Overall I think the colours look good, you could try the Radial blur if you want to help with the BKG, a neat tool that has it place for sure, or even just a Gradute filter for the FG. I assume you have upgraded to 5.4? Good use of the natural perch and it seems the cubs are doing well and growing quickly. How are you doing with 'scent' as they can be quite skittish, or dare I ask about bath time matey? Sharpness & clarity look good, likewise the techs.

Are you enticing them or are they just foraging naturally? Good be a very productive series, nice to see some good European fox images.

TFS
Steve

[Neil Burton]

Thanks Steve. 200-400 is great for this situation, especially as these guys are quite big now. I am smearing some cheap fishy cat food around, otherwise they are likely to stay on the far side of the den, which has 5 entrances and none of them are photographable :o
My scent seems largely ignored, I do not touch anything and when I do I have fishy food on my hands ;) and from the hours of camera trap footage I have so far, I never once saw an adult, despite the cat food. So can only deduce that mum or dad arrive behind those trees in the rear holes (which smells like an old slaughter house and has the bones to prove it). The cubs of course do not know what I am, especially as the see only a large Realtree blob ;)

Not upgraded LR yet, still on 5.3 but I did add a radial adjustment and blurred the edges of this a bit.

It would be really nice to remove the camo and see if they get used to me but that would only make them easier targets for the hunting brigade in winter, something I really do not want. Hopefully I can get more shots in June when we get back from France, but by then the ticks will be in full blood sucking mode!

Will be re-processing a few Steve, sorry about that ;)

[Steve Kaluski]

It would be really nice to remove the camo and see if they get used to me but that would only make them easier targets for the hunting brigade in winter,

Neil you need an orange tabard and something to pop on the hide too, to avoid accidents. Jamie & I feel into that trap with the Snowies a few years back, as they resided in one location where a pair of 'Elmer Fudds' were shooting duck!

Try peanut butter, I don't think smooth or crunchy makes any difference, personally I would also use some of those latex gloves to protect both you & the fox. You could drop Andy Capp a line, as I know he & Mark have been shooting foxes for a while, well certainly a vixen. Hope the cubs are still there and Mum hasn't moved them, watch out for those ticks, don't want to fall into the trap Edwin did.

Will reply later to you as I have the builders in at present & I am trying to get stuff sorted & packed!!!!

[Thinus Schoeman]

Hi Neil, there is absolutely nothing not to like about this image!. Crystal clear image with beautiful natural colours, and very sharp with excellent detail in killer light with a beautiful background! Nothing more to say, except congratulations!

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Neil, looks god to me .
Like the comp , colors, contrast and the BKG.
I would evtl thinking in going a tad cooler in WB , just my view. Looks a bit too yellow , just a thought.

Good luck with them , Andreas

[Nancy Bell]

This is great! Wonderful curious pose of the fox on a great mossy stump. Excellent details and nice, bright eye. Well done! Hey I never thought of cat food, etc.

[Neil Burton]

Thanks. I have spoken to many photographers over the past few years, yes these foxes have taken that long get, all said dog or cat food smeared around will have Mr Fox curious. Cheaper the better as good brands tend to smell less nasty. Not tried peanut butter yet though.

[Morkel Erasmus]

This works well, mate!
I like how the BG grass follows the outline of the kit's back.
Enjoying this series!

[Loi Nguyen]

Neil, super sharp image in good light. The only thing I would wish for is the OOF tail is not so strongly placed by the cub.

I was in NY last week and stopped by B&H to look at the 200-400. It seems liek a very sweet lens. Will probably sell my 500 to get the 200-400 soon. Loi

[Steve Kaluski]

Will probably sell my 500 to get the 200-400 soon.

If you can, keep the 500 Loi, I know hauling it may be an issue with the rest of the kit, but you may occasional need that extra reach with a FF camera, but budgets dictate too.

[Gabriela Plesea]

What a beauty, Neil! Just cannot believe one can capture these little guys in such beautiful setting, love the scenery, love the expression on the subject's face and that pose (I wonder what he/she was looking at?). Well processed and presented, no crits, just compliments, and please post some more foxes

Wishing you a great week ahead,

[Neil Burton]

Thanks everyone. Loi, if you can keep the 500 or even get the 200-400 and new 600 all the better. For shooting birds I find the 500 invaluable and will be taking it to France next week. The difference between 560mm at 5.6 and 500mm at f4 is huge, especially I find the 200-400 at 560mm need f6.3 or 7.1 to get the detail.

More to come ;)

[Andrew Robinson]

Wonderful image Neil, very jealous as we have no Foxes anywhere near us.

Andrew

[Neil Burton]

Thanks Andrew, but i am sure you got lots of other goodies ;)