Fox

[gail bisson]

I don't venture here very often but this image got a good response on FB so will be interested to see what " the pros" think.
I was lying on my tummy photographing a greater yellowlegs when this handsome fella showed up. He walked slowly towards me, then suddenly assumed the " stealth" position as he quickly approached me. I think he saw his reflection in the lens. I let him come to within the MFD of the 600mm and then pushed myself up to my knees so he could see me. I think I scared " the bejesus" out of him because he took off with a yelp!!
This is FF crop from horizontal. The next frame is OOF because he was so close.
Canon 1D MKIV
600mm II
1/640 F 5.6 ISO 800
PP- I trimmed back the blade of grass on the RHS, sliders in LR 5 then migrated to Photoshop ,levels, NR to BG above the fox, levels, DE to fox at 3% then USM to JPEG.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[Dvir Barkay]

Really nice shot, love the sneaky look in his eyes, and the way he is slowly hopping. Also love that you did what seems to be minimal PS, always love a more natural look.

Dvir

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

This is just fantastic Gail! Stunning pose and colour palette with super-duper detail and sharpness. The eyes & expression on his/her face is awesome. TFS.

[gail bisson]

Really nice shot, love the sneaky look in his eyes, and the way he is slowly hopping. Also love that you did what seems to be minimal PS, always love a more natural look.

Dvir

Thanks Dvir. I do minimal PP-not because I am good but rather because I do not have great PP skills.! I am still trying to figure out luminosity masks.

[Dvir Barkay]

Being picky about my reviews of others photos, I actually relooked at the shot, would have edited my first post but it isn't allowing me, I actually see a slight magenta cast, could be me, but look at the back of his body above the head, the fur is slightly magenta to my eyes. So I used Nik Color efex White Neutralizer which did a subtle but rather effective treatment. I also knocked down the magenta in saturation a bit. Look at the blacks and greens, that is were its most evident.


All the best, Dvir

[gail bisson]

Hi Dvir,
I see the change in the black legs but not on the back fur. Could it be my monitor or my eyes? Appreciate your work on this and I will fool around with the RAW,
Gail

[Dvir Barkay]

Hi Dvir,
I see the change in the black legs but not on the back fur. Could it be my monitor or my eyes? Appreciate your work on this and I will fool around with the RAW,
Gail

Yeah its mostly in the blacks, slightly in the fur, it warmed it up a touch. The Greens as well. Its a very slight change, but I am always super picky about color casts. Wasn't before I joined Birdphotographers, but now I am. Hope it helps a bit.

Dvir

[Morkel Erasmus]

Love the angle, light and pose here Gail. Sweet BG bokeh too!
Subtle changes in Dvir's repost, I would also go down on the lights/midtones slightly using a luminosity adjustment, it should get a bit more tonal contrast out of the fox.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Gail - You should visit us in Wildlife more often. Great low pov, coming at you pose and eye contact. I too spotted the magenta cast as soon as I opened the image, an easy fix. Morkel's suggestion is a good one too. I hope to see more wildlife images from you soon.

TFS,
Rachel

[D. Robert Franz]

Very nice head on angle, great intensity in the eyes of the fox. I think it was well done!

[Mike Poole]

Great low angle gives a real perspective on the hunting technique of the fox. Colours already mentioned, and while I know a lot of people don't like square crops I think it might work in this instance with some taken from the top

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gail, agree with Rachel, you should post more often in Wildlife.

For me it's all about the perspective and this works perfectly, nice and low with vegetation in front, with a nice BKG, albeit rather vibrant. Personally I would have liked the subject more head on rather than at a slight angle, but hey, that's life. The reduction in the magenta helps. likewise pulling back some blue too. Add a Graduate filter to the FG brings out more depth & detail and adds to a layering effect of depth within the image, upgrade to LR5.4, 4.4 is a bit behind with the options .

TFS
Steve

[Karl Egressy]

Great pose, eye contact and excellent harmony between the for- and background, Gail.

[Marc Mol]

Love the low POV, colour, detail and stunning BG Gail, with Dver's RP taking it up a slight notch, very nice.

TFS

[Dumay de Boulle]

WOW!!! This is spectacular. I love it Gail!