Stretching Fox

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 20, 2013239 views14 comments

Hi everyone! My dad and I were going through some of my pictures from last year and found a few I hadn't posted here.

We found this fox on one of our regular drives to Waterton Lakes National Park last spring. He was laying down beside a ground squirrel he had killed and mostly eaten, but really wasn't doing much for pictures. We waited for him to do something and he finally got up and had a huge stretch. I'm glad I was watching him through the camera so I was ready when he did this!

When we were processing the image my dad suggested this one might look cool in B&W so he converted it and I loved the result. I hope you do too!

Nikon D7000
Nikkor AF-S 200-400mm f/4 IF-ED VR at 400mm
ISO 400
1/1250sec @ f/4
resting on beanbag in truck window
cropped to 90% of full width
converted to B&W with Nik Silver Efex Pro 2

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on January 20, 2013 at 8:49 PM

Love the pose here, and very fine detail.
I love red foxes so much, I'd love to see this in full colour. I'm afraid the B&W doesn't do much for me -

Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on January 20, 2013 at 10:31 PM

Hi Mar! Sheesh did you ever nail this one! I just love his pose and the small catchlight in his eye, but for sure it's the incredible detail and texture in the fur that puts this one over the top. I can't give objective feedback on the comp because I helped you choose this, but I think it was the right way to go from what you had on the original capture. Great job handling the big lens, too!

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Christine Adams on January 21, 2013 at 7:01 AM

VERY nice image! Love the stretch and detail in the fur but I, too, would prefer full color.

Registered on January 24, 2006, 119 Posts, 1871 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on January 21, 2013 at 8:45 AM

Hey Marlise,

Well, even without seeing the colour version I have to say my vote is for the B&W version - love what it does for the coat. For me the crop is a bit too tight and a little too "fitted" to the subject, but overall I quite like this shot.

One technical thing: While it may be the background coincidentally being lighter right around portions of the subject, it does look to me like there's a fairly pronounced (and wide) halo around the snout and upper back of the fox. If it's not the background, perhaps some "toning" decisions made by the software you used for the B&W treatment? Just a guess...

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on January 21, 2013 at 1:38 PM

Marlise, without seeing the colour version I suspect your father may be right about the B&W in this case; I really like the look too! Both the pose and the beautiful fur detail are interesting enough to captivate a viewer. I only wish the fox would have been angled a bit towards you as opposed to away, but that was beyond your control and really a minor improvement to a wonderful image.

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on January 21, 2013 at 3:14 PM

the textures on the fur came out a treat after the B&W conversion
nice one Marlise!

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

Comment posted by Holly Morris on January 21, 2013 at 10:52 PM

I like the contrast of fur and ground (grass). It might be nice to see this in color, but it looks great in b&w.
HollyMorris

Registered on October 9, 2012, 66 Posts, 112 Comments

Comment posted by Ingrid Vekemans on January 22, 2013 at 9:51 AM

Lovely pose, great sharpness and I do like the B&W conversion...though I'm also curious about the colour version...the reds and browns of the fur would also look good given there's enough contrast, imo. Overall a lovely shot.

Grt, Ingrid.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 138 Posts, 780 Comments

Comment posted by Chet Dowell on January 22, 2013 at 3:08 PM

Marlise, this is a wonderful image. The luxurious coat, the pose and the crop all add up to a great image. WELL done!!

Chet

Registered on December 3, 2012, 237 Posts, 1171 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on January 22, 2013 at 4:10 PM

This is a terrific pose, Marlise. My wish would have been for him/her to be facing slightly more to the lens, but this is nice as presented. I think the choice for black and white works well.

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

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on January 23, 2013 at 12:24 AM

Sweet image! I really want to find these guys this summer again! Also, IMO, I think the black and white makes the image.

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

Comment posted by Marlise Launstein on January 23, 2013 at 12:41 AM

Thank you for all your nice comments!

Registered on August 31, 2011, 28 Posts, 175 Comments

Comment posted by Lynne Doxie on January 23, 2013 at 12:56 AM

Ditto to the comments above. I like the B&W but would be curious to see the color version.

Registered on January 12, 2013, 14 Posts, 19 Comments

Comment posted by Tim Butler on January 29, 2013 at 2:31 PM

IMO this is a superb BW image! Excellent detail in the fur and dreamy BG!

Registered on October 12, 2012, 17 Posts, 155 Comments