Sleep with one eye open

Gallery: WildlifePosted April 25, 2012196 views9 comments

I heard from a co-worker about a family of fox living at a local wildlife refuge. I discovered an adult sleeping in the field adjacent to a wood pile so I was able to sneak up around the wood pile and make this shot.... I quickly hid back behind the woodpile after the shot (I hoped that I wouldn't wake it up but their survival depends on being aware of their surroundings. No sign of the kits but I'll give it a shot this weekend.

I really wish the OOF blade of grass wasn't there... spent quite a bit of time trying to "remove" it but the fine detail in the fox fur makes it extremely difficult to do without it being noticeable... any and all advice is welcomed!

Nikon D300s 300 f4 + 1.7X TC HH
f/6.7
1/250s
ISO 640
-.33 EC

Full Frame, adjustments in ACR and CS6 (beta) on 27" iMac

- Luke

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Peter Cross on April 26, 2012 at 1:10 AM

Superb detail on the fur, Luke. Nice pose, too. Definitely hard to do something in their space without them knowing. The open eye and the erect ears pointing at you are certainly proof enough he had you scoped out but he sure didn't seem too upset with you. Good luck trying to find a den with kits.

Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on April 26, 2012 at 2:38 PM

Really awesome image, Luke! The detail in his fur is just crazy! I do agree with you about the out of focus blades of grass, but at least they are not going straight through his eye

. I know what you mean with how hard it is to remove things out of the face, though

.

Sure is fun to photograph these guys. Definitely one of my favourites!

Good luck to you on finding these guys and especially the kits! I can't wait to see what you get!

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Hahn on April 26, 2012 at 9:17 PM

Great job Luke.

Registered on August 16, 2007, 14 Posts, 151 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on April 27, 2012 at 4:30 AM

Cool shot Luke!!! Great eye contact

The off grass don't bother me, excellent detail in the face and eye. Sweet Photo!!!

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on April 27, 2012 at 5:20 PM

Super detail here Luke, in great light. That one eye looking at you puts this on another level!

In an ideal world I would have loved not having any OOF grass in front of the face...

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on April 30, 2012 at 3:38 PM

Sometimes you can't do anything about details like the grass other than depth of field control, but here you placed the eye perfectly and it holds a viewer's attention.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Basri Akcasoy on April 30, 2012 at 3:47 PM

There is a saying in my language '' Foxy sleep'' This is exactly foxy sleep.

Nice sharp detail. TFS.

Registered on February 16, 2012, 118 Posts, 767 Comments

Comment posted by Sally Wood on May 3, 2012 at 6:05 PM

this is great,,, you caught his eye between the blades of grass.. I would leave the grass there.. looks like he /you were planning the shot that way!

Registered on March 8, 2012, 39 Posts, 509 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on July 6, 2012 at 12:07 PM

Nice & sharp, technically right one the money.
Really like the one eye open thing Luke..Cool shot.
Not much one can do when the grass gets in the way..where's those scissors when ya need em'?
Maybe someday in the future PS will have a software function that's "scissor aware"

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments