Last Thursday I made a second trip to Ontario's Algonquin Provincial Park to photograph Pine Marten and Red Fox. These two species are what I would call overly habituated to humans thus are rather easy to photograph. It was my first time going for the foxes here and this image is somewhat similar to Dan Cadieux's wonderful snowy fox-scape image. The day was much too bright and only a small percentage of my captures yielded foxes with open eyes...mostly they were squinting due to the brightness of the day. Although this lighting did allow for some backlit scenes that I will post soon. In this image the female is being very curious, while the old male stays in the foreground. My pockets were also full of peanuts for the jays.
Cheez these are beautiful animals with mesmerizing eyes. Its a great image that definitely educates the viewer about an animal I have never seen myself. I have found that so called easier to photograph tame animals bring with them a multitude of challenges. Love the exposure and the detail on the fox
Hi Andrew, like Dan's, this is a cool perspective and good choice in lens too. DoF and exposure controlled nicely and I like the fact you have included the female in the frame. I really do like the fact you can almost touch the subject, as he almost 'walks into' the lens.
Personal choice, but if you upped the Blue I might have selected that area only for the sky.
Is there an issue with these becoming habituated with folk and thus creating conflict?
Hi Andrew - What a great use of a wide angle. Nice dof and sharpness and the additional fox in the bg takes this up a notch for me. Excellent detail in the snow too. I do find the blue sky pulling my attention a bit.
Hi Rachel, Basil, & Steve...thanks so much for the comments...no upping of the colours but I did wonder if the blue was a bit strong...I will tone that down a touch.
Steve...I don't believe there to be any issues with these foxes being overly habituated by human presence. Folks have been visiting them for a few years and they seem to be holding their own quite well. I will likely visit them again for photos of them with their kits and then again for some fall colour images. The old male has a blotchy nose (pink and black) and walks with a significant limp so I would assume his days are numbered...unless his limp is arthritis and it improves with warmer temps in spring.
The reason I ask is that we have a few issues over here, where goodwill folk end up feeding them, then there is an issue and so the Fox gets the blame.
Hi Andrew -- Brilliantly done , these wide angle perspectives are so appealing and you have done so well to capture this frame . Not sure about the sky either , looks a bit unnatural to me in terms of colours , the OOF individual in the BG adds as an interest point for me , Superb frame . TFS !
Andrew as with your frogs incredible work and also fascinating to see both yours and Daniel' different take of a similar image,really really fascinating, Andrew. Another vote for the sky to somehow be less blue/toned down a bit. But apart from that an incredible image clever choice in lens dof and handling that snow in sunlight,the old man at the back adds for me but I adore what both of you have done here
A cracking perspective and angle here, Andrew!
I like the inquisitive pose and the fine detail. I'd reduce the blue in the whites though (shadowed snow).
Glad you got to see and photograph them...they are a treat! I love the cat-like pupils these guys have. Nice details, exposure. I agree with the folks about the sky, easy tweak.