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Thread: Female Red Fox

  1. #1
    Mac Wheeler McDougal Jr.'s Avatar
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    Default Female Red Fox

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    Saw this female red fox in Central Illinois on a farm north of Peoria, IL. She had six kits in a den under a barn. She had just brought a rat of something back to the den for her kits. It was wonderful to see and I was lucky enough to get some good shots of the kits which if I get time I will post in the next couple of days. All coments are welcome. Shooting info as follows:
    Nikon D4
    2015:05:29 0711
    850mm, 600mm f/4 lens w\1.4X extender
    850mm (in 35mm film)
    1/2000 sec, f/5.6
    Mode: Manual
    Metering: Multi-segment
    ISO: 3200
    AF mode: AF-C
    White balance: SUNNY
    Flash: Off
    File size: 20.5MB
    Image size: 4992 x 3292
    Color space: AdobeRGB
    Saturation: Normal
    Sharpness: Normal
    Contrast: Normal

  2. #2
    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Good evening Mr. Wheeler,

    I am delighted to find this cute fox image from you and surprised I haven't seen the rest of your images - just noticed you joined BPN in 2008 and have quite a number of posts and threads!

    The framing here is great IMO and I love the stare from the fox - was she looking towards the den, she seems extremely alert and a concerned look on her face.

    Would like to know more about your processing steps, if possible... also, whether this is full frame or did you perform a large crop? A bit more noise than expected from a D4 and wondering if the converter/extender might be the culprit? Difficult to give an opinion on the colours because I am not familiar with the species, I do like the reds there in the fur...if this were mine I would try lift exposure selectively to reveal more detail in the darker areas. Lovely capture and I cannot wait to see your images of the little ones, thank you so much for sharing:)

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

  3. #3
    Mac Wheeler McDougal Jr.'s Avatar
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    Hi Gabriela,

    Thank you for your kind remarks about my fox photo. To answer a couple of you questions about this image here is the best I can do. 1) there is no crop of the image. 2) I decided that the fox was too centered and so I moved it slightly to the right of center. 3) In the original the head was the best of the six I shot, but unfortunately, I managed to cut the bottom of the front paws off in the capture, so I copied them from one of the other images and added a bit of canvas to the bottom of the image and added the paws. 4) I am not sure about the noise, but it was shot with in ISO of 3200 which sometimes requires a bit of noise reduction which I haven't had much experience with. 5) I used the highlight/shadows sliders to lighten the image. I hope that tells you the things you wish to know. I will post an image of the kits in the next few days.

    Mac

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    Hello Sir -- This a very beautiful image ! also u have nicely handled the PP work on the paws ! I find a cyan tinge in the whites of the fox and also a bit of noise in the BKG. TFS and keep posting !!

  5. #5
    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Hello Mr. Wheeler,

    Thank you so much for your reply with details regarding PP work, always good to disclose as much as possible in order to receive feedback from other members. I must admit you have done a good job of adding canvas and fixing the "paw" issue, although I did have a slight suspicion of some "man-made" changes here and there, therefore my question on your processing steps:)

    Would like to mention a few issues you could look at, one of them being the use of Highlights/Shadows tool (which can be quite harsh IMO), if this were mine I would rather modify exposure selectively; the colour casts in the white parts (a slight tinge of blue and cyan) are quite easy to remove in Photoshop, certainly worth the effort; blacks are slightly chocked (eye to some extent, but lower limbs especially), not enough detail IMO and unfortunately more difficult to recover; I do like the red colour on the fox, never seen this species in real life but I am very tempted to go a tad darker when it comes to the fur, WDYT? Perhaps a curves and levels adjustment would do?

    I too believe "less is more" when it comes to PP work but some images need some special TLC:) So looking forward to see the little fox babies, hopefully the image does not require too many drastic steps in PP work

    Wishing you a lovely evening,

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Wheeler - Nice look at the fox and the off-centered comp is definitely the way to go. I can't comment on color because I am not on my calibrated monitor right now and having computer issues. In the future, if you replace body parts, add canvas or remove anything, please disclose that in your intro. I would prefer even a bit more room below. As is, it feels tight to me.

    Also don't forget to give your thoughts on other people's images. We recommend commenting on at least 3-5 other wildlife images each time you post one of your own. It helps to foster a sense of community and allow us to all learn from each other.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Lifetime Member Ákos Lumnitzer's Avatar
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    I like the pose and the fox just looks a little pale, yet the green vegetation looks very saturated. Perhaps it is her true light colour. Really nicely done Wheeler!
    I cannot wait to see the babies later on.


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