Red Fox

Wonderful image Ashleigh! Nice placement in the frame, sharpness and the subject can't be beat. Wish it were mine!

I really like the very alert look on the foxes and the eye contact with it staring directly at the camera. Great detail and color. The placement of the animal in the frame is right on. If I had any nit at all it would be just a tad bit more room behind the tail, but that is very minor. Great image.

Great capture of a beautiful subject. I like the sense of habitat captured, the great eye contact, and do not mind the stem in front. Very nice work.

Another beautiful post of a red fox. A very different background in this case, but pleasing nonetheless. You've captured great tones and textures in that luxurious coat. Wonderful eye contact. Richard

A lovely capture, and you've captured that alert look that foxes have very well. I also like the color of the fox against the near-monochromatic background. A very nice shot.

In an ideal set up, no stem in front, but you managed an excellent capture with a beautiful subject, enhanced with a dynamic pose. Exposure looks right on.

Sweet alert pose you captured of this handsome fellow in his habitat Ashleigh Very sharp and a pleasing composition.

Hi Ashleigh,

That's a handsome fox you captured. For me the thing that stands out is the partially uplifted hind leg - it looks like it has stopped itself in mid-stride to check you out - to me this adds interest to the frame.

Another thing I like about this shot is it looks very "natural" - and definitely not over processed. Exposure looks spot on - I like that some snow detail is visible yet dark-on-dark detail is good.

For me the stick does little "damage" to the photo - it blends in with the background and its position (running mostly up the leg) minimizes its impact.

In terms of capturing the fox in the environment - if I'm being fully honest, I think the fox is too large in the frame (and dominates it so much) to allow much conveying of a "sense of place" in this shot.

But overall this is very nicely done - good work.

Cheers...

Brad

Thank you everybody.

Brad, yes you're right there should be more room. This fox was pretty close and I had the sensor way over to the left to get his eye which didn't leave enough room behind his tail. If I crop less to show more environment it doesn't look very balanced because most of the room is to the left of the fox's head. I'll try to post another one later today.

Hey Ashleigh,

I think you'll find when you're in a position where the subject is almost filling the frame (like this one), you're left with the fewest compositional and creative options. Your biggest challenge becomes keeping all animal parts in the frame and trying to slightly tweak the head or eye position (and that's about ALL your options!). When caught in this "almost filling frame" scenario, I try to either back off and REALLY go "environmental" or move in REALLY tight and go for some form of creative portrait (or even abstract).

It seems like many wildlife photographers think "closer is better" and strive for the "frame-filling" shot. Once you get past this way of thinking you'll find you have a world of creative options open to you. But don't tell anyone I told you this!

Cheers...

Brad

Very nice. No nits from me.

Really nice, Ashleigh. I really like the stare he's giving you. I noticed him and his mate are quite like the pair I usually photograph. You said the male is darker, whereas the female is lighter...that's exactly like our pair. However, our male is more cooperative than the female (unlike your pair), but the female is coming around .

I do think the branch going through him behind his foreleg is mildly distracting, but Brad made a good point that the color matches the background making it less distracting.