Red Fox

Captured this fox this morning. I have been shooting a little more in RAW lately. I really like how the images look. The files are a little bigger, but you become really selective when out shooting.

Canon 1D Mark2
500mm lens

Great shot. Nice sharp focus in the eyes. It looks as if he was posing for you.
How long did you have to feed him to get him to pose like that?

Great pose in nice light, Dan. I'm a bit bothered by the tail missing though, and completely understand how far they stick out from the body. Glad to hear you're shooting RAW ~ it's the only way to go for serious work.

Re: Robert's question - there are people feeding these foxes and a few are photogs. I was once trying to photograph a black phase red fox who knew he was special and would lurk in the shadows. A photographer was throwing pieces of hot dog and bragging about how close-in his fox images were. I admonished him as a poser and tried to explain that if we feed animals, people will assume that's how all wildlife shots are made. I further explained that animals become dependant on humans for food and it causes a host of problems (too long for this post). He didn't understand...a complete MO-ron. I have heard of an internationally known wildlife photographer getting booted from Yellowstone for baiting wolves with dog food...and doing the same in Denali. It's up to all of us to set an example and baiting wildlife is no joke. No image is worth more than the well-being of the subject. End of rant.

Thanks Robert and Dave. I have seen some photographers try to feed these foxes in order to get better images. Of course, the photos do not look very nice when you have a fox with a hot dog or a piece of chicken breast from King Soopers. Not very natural. I often times see alot of older people feeding the foxes. I even overheard a couple of people talking on how they should get rid of the coyotes that often frequent the area.
How ludicrous! They(people) are doing more harm to the foxes by feeding them!! If it were up to people like this, they would only keep the "cute" animals around and exterminate the big, bad evil predators! Sorry, I am done with my rant now!

That's a really nice shot of a beautiful animal, Dan. I like the intent expression on his face, This shot really shows the great color they have - the classic red, the white underside and the black legs. That's cool. I thought the same thing as Dave about the tail, but still like this a lot.

Superb portrait, Dan. As always, your fox photos are incredible!

It certainly looks like he (she?) posed for you. This is just great, Dan!

Wow, Dan, I love this! Great head angle, nice light in the eyes, razor sharp where it matters. Sweet!

Very nice, Dan, as always!

Love the pose and the color/quality of the eye! Beautiful animal!

Another great portrait, Dan! Like a few of the others, I'd like to see the tail, but it's certainly engaging as is.

Thanks for the compliments!

As always, your critter shots really rock! Nice job Dan!