Fox

from tonight, been baiting this fox for the last few months in the garden, the foxes around me never seem to emerge in the day so i have to turn to that hated thing flash , first attempts using on camera flash resulted in horrendous reflections in the eye, i don't have a decent flash but i managed to dig up a tiny 40 year old sunpak that had a cord that meant it didn't have to be on the hotshoe, i reflected the flash of a sheet hanging of a folded tabletennis table, and then scattered some leaves on the patio to hide the raisins

unfortunately i can't seem to get the processing quite right

40D + tokina 12-24mm + sunpak 140
1/100 @ f9
ISO 640
FULL FRAME

maybe a bit better, neither look like what it looked like when i processed it

Hi Jack,

It's a good start. Perhaps put up a 500w halogen security light to help light the area, if you have one use a fast lens a 70-200/2.8 looks ideal for this and then use flash to help things along.

Like the second image posted, good comp and lovely enviro image.

Well done, I'm sur eyou will get some good shot before long.

Regards

Rob

Hi Jack
I just downloaded this, and had a play(hope you don't mind)
I just raised the gamma to 1.60 and then a bit of brightness and contrast, and it looks really nice,(All in Paint Shop Pro)
Cheers
John
PS Sent you an E mail but can't include pic

Hi Jack

I really rate this image and the lighting for me is spot on - it looks like the lighting that would be thrown onto the patio via the patio doors - perfect.

A winner for me - well done!

David

hi jack i think the first image you posted is bang on. lovely lighting giving superb chestnut tones, and really beautiful subdued lighting. very very nice indeed. don't change a thing!!

it gives a real sense of the fox's living habits. nice idea to bouce the light off a sheet.

very well done.

Must agree with David this to me is very very very nice well done

Andy

I really like this. I think the lighting is spot on and the fox being in that zone between the darkness and the light is excellent.



Paul

this reminds me of an old oil painting, superb colours leave it just as is it is,well done.
Stewart............... :wavy:

I couldn't agree more. The lighting is perfect IMO and tells the whole story about urban foxes creeping about close to the house at night. I love this picture from the rich tones of his coat to the scattered leaves and light spilling from the house. First shot is comfortably the best I reckon. One of your best.
Eric

This is one top class image Jack - the subdued lighting really gives the feeling of Renard lurking in the shadows.

The best image I think you've ever posted here - it's a joy to view and a real credit to you

Processing looks pretty good to me Jack.
Very effective use of flash here and the minimal light levels work great. Love the way the fox is emerging from the shadows and the image looks exactly as you'd imagine a dark, late October evening.

Hi Jack,

It's all been said really! Lovely enviro shot!

Agree with the others Jack, however, if it were me I would be tempted to try putting a white board / sheet to the right of the image/ fox. That would reflect just a small amount of light back onto the fox and lighten the shadows a touch without overpowering it. Just a thought, great picture anyway.
Robert.

Love it Jack. Really captures all that urban foxes are about for me and have to agree with everyone else that the lighting is great, that perfect balance between dark and light. How late was this taken?

I like it as it is...... excellent work.

Tony

Hello Jack.
Think this is a wonderful image i really like the lighting soft and very natural,the Fox pose is excellent.
Keith.

This is spot-on Jack, any adjustments would lose the atmosphere of the moment and the spirit of the Fox; it's all captured so well here! perfect.

I really like this as it is too. Really nice setting, and soft light, the colours of the leaves look great with the fox. It tells a story!

Nice work Jack - the lighting is subtle enough, and the fox's position is such that it evokes most people's image of a fox slinking around.

If the image/processing isn't what you want/intended - can you describe what is wrong - then maybe someone can help you a bit more.

(PS - Andy, I think you mean 'Reynard' )

Nick
if you're still there, my main problem with it is the noise in areas going from dark to pitch black, the plant pots behind the fox for example, perhaps this is unavoidable?

i was also having trouble getting the colour right for web, but i think i have that now

Jack
It may be down to the variation in monitors ( and there's a lot of it) ! but I still think this image is much better with the gamma up by maybe to 1.20 . It still doesn't distract from the whole idea and thinking behind the shot.
John

You could try processing the image using a 16 bit raw conversion in photoshop instead of a 8 bit one if your raw convertor & photoshop will let you get that far. That will help a little with the noise, but probably not that much as some noise will be inevitable given your light levels. You might like to look at some of the trial versions of noise ninja / noiseware etc as they can help clean up the image after it's been taken. You can do selective masking within noise ninja & photoshop to apply it to only the area you want. You do have to be careful to make sure you don't make the fixed areas look 'plastic'.

In terms of doing anything 'in-camera', you'll probably have to over-expose the image first (will reduce the noise), and then under-expose in the raw convertor to bring the image back to what you saw/expected to photograph. I've generally found with the digital cameras that it's better to overexpose something and pull it back when shooting in dark conditions, than to under expose and push the exposure up in the raw. If you do that, you'll need to watch for any reflective surfaces that give you highlights and make sure they don't burn out too much.

As an example, you could try using the exposure bracketing on your camera to take the same shot three times - once over and under exposed and once correctly exposed. Take each shot into your raw convertor and see what happens when you play around with the exposure sliders/values. You'll begin to see what happens with the noise in the images.

HTH a little.

Cheers Nick really appreciate it, i'll have ago at the 16 bit that would make sense for what the problem seems to be, have ago at overexposing in future too, but i don't think i can bracket since i'm a few metres away with a remote

I'll try the gamma John just as soon as i can find it on elements

I wasn't meaning to try bracketing a 'live' subject (although no reason why you couldn't other than flash re-cycle time) - stick a stuffed toy or something similar in its place just to get an idea of what happens with the noise when it's over/under exposed.

Jack
"Edge preserving smooth " is a simple noise reduction tool on selected areas, and as Nick says there are loads of "noise reduction " programmes. They can if overdone give wierd effects though. I always have this fear of getting too complicated. All I did was as I said increased the gamma a bit and it looked great. Even a bit of gentle selective "dodging " on the animal could work wonders. At the end of the day its what you really want that matters. We all have different ideas of what your picture should look like. You don't have to run with it.
Cheers
john

The second post works for me Jack, a very nice image with bags of atmosphere that really portrays there secretive nature.

Great work.

Hi Jack

An absolute joy to view... the atmosphere the skulking Fox... all superb, and the light is spot on....