Bat-Eared Fox and Pup

[John Lowin]

This image was captured in the Masi Mara Triangle. This mom had several pups who were quite adventurous and this little guy that just clung to his mother. The short dof here is a problem to me. I hope you like my image anyway. C and C welcome, I'm here to learn. Thanks for looking. - John

f/7.1 1/250 ISO 800 @ 700mm
Canon 1D Mk II
Canon EF 500mm 1:4 L IS USM
Kenisis Safari Sack (Bean Bag)

[Arthur Morris]

Good job on the bionic eyes Peter; was flash used?

I took another approach, selectively sharpening the baby's face with Unsharp Mask at 300/.3/1 using a Quick Mask.

[Craig Markham]

Wonderful capture of an elusive animal, though I agree that the downcast, gleamy eyes were somewhat less than charismatic. Peter's treatment worked pretty well on that. However, I do like Artie's selective approach to the sharpening; in Peter's whole-image sharpening example, the soft textures of the fur seemed overwhelmed (a bit wire-brushy), making the top of the female's head and the grass look over sharpened to me. A terrific addition to your collection, John.

[Dave Mills]

Great image! I like Peter's eye rendition the best. The catchlights are there but they are more subtle..

[John Lowin]

Hi John, the depth of field is not such a problem. The only thing you could do is increase the aperture, but looking at your light conditions you didn't have much choice. I think the moment captured is very nice and special. Bat-Eared Foxes I have seen thus far have been very skittish and taking any image of them proved impossible. What I would do to improve the image is take out the bionic look out of the foxes eyes and you can apply a round or two of sharpening.

Thanks for your re-post. I think the eyes are a definite improvement. I was concerned about possibly loosing the softness of the fur especially on the mothers breast, in which she is protecting her pup. Thanks for the improvement. - John

[John Lowin]

Thanks. No flash. - John

[John Lowin]

Hi Craig, Thanks again for your kind words. - John

[Sabyasachi Patra]

John,
I am intrigued by the eyes. Is it normal in this species?

Artie's selective sharpening works better, as you can see the pup's face sharpened and it now syncs well with the mother. Since I don't do selective manipulation of a particular portion, I would go with Peter's version with a lower amount of sharpening.

I would tend to use a higher aperture than f7.1 as the mother and child are not moving.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

What a thrilling opportunity to see mother and baby. Fine capture John. How many days were you in the Masai Mara ? You certainly were very fortunate to see so many species. Have really enjoyed your many posts.

[ChasMcRae]

Nice capture especially with the mom wrap around the baby type look.
I wonder if the eye look is a reflection from ????-perhaps the vehicle you were in or something else. Weird look . I have pics of the fox and do not remember any funny look but was cloudy. Will have to do a relook.
Chas.

[John Lowin]

What a thrilling opportunity to see mother and baby. Fine capture John. How many days were you in the Masai Mara ? You certainly were very fortunate to see so many species. Have really enjoyed your many posts.

Thanks Judy, We have been there three times, twice with film. once with digital. Two trips were fourteen full days in Kenya, of which about three days were spent in Samburu, a day and a half to two days at lake Nakuru and the balance in various parts of the Mara. One of the trips was similar to the above, but with a full additional week in Tanzania. They were all outstanding, and each quite different.

Many thanks again for your kind comments. They are truly appreciated.

[Robert Amoruso]

John, Well composed and interesting expression on both faces. The selectively sharpening would be my first suggestion.

[D. Robert Franz]

An very nice image that tells a story and some excellent PP work shown....