This past weekend I caught a glimpse of a fox in motion at Huntley Meadows Park—I’m pretty sure it was doing the foxtrot. I was staring across a mostly frozen beaver pond, when suddenly this red fox (Vulpes vulpes) burst into my field of view. It was running slowly around one edge of the pond, heading in the direction of a wooded area.
I didn’t have much time to react, so I had to make do with the existing camera settings. The exposure was dialed in about right and the shutter speed was fast enough. What I didn’t realize at that moment, though, was that I was in servo mode, because I had been shooting some geese in flight, so I was happy that I somehow managed to lock the focus on the moving fox pretty well. I was a little chagrined after the fact to realize that my zoom lens had not been fully extended—the images were shot at about 200mm on a 70-300mm lens.
I did get some action shots of the fox, but the first image is my favorite. The fox had paused for a split second and was looking back in the direction from which it had come and there is a lot of facial detail.
It’s especially fascinating for me to see the position of the bushy tail when the fox was moving. Often it seems like the tail is parallel to the ground. It’s cool too that I was able to catch the fox in mid-jump, with its feet almost entirely in the air. The snow is mostly gone from the ground today, so I am particularly thankful that I was able to capture some images of this brief encounter with the fox in a wintery scene.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Phabulous phox photos, Mike!
Fantastic sighting! I hope I see the fox one of these days!
I suspect that you will, though I have the slight advantage of being able to hang out at that spot more often than you do. I haven’t been able to figure out any schedule–the two sightings that I have had were pretty random.
Lovely, lovely action shots! I love foxes, they are my favourites in the forest!! Very nice ones, Mike 🙂
Very, very cool photos!! Well done!
Thanks. I seem to have had a lot of luck in the last month in seeing unusual things.
As Bob Zeller said to me in a comment a few days ago, have you noticed that the more we practice, the better our luck is becoming? Smile.
Thanks, Judy. There is a lot of wisdom in that comment. I am much more aware of my camera settings (and what they do) than I was a year ago, for example, which means that I am better prepared when a situation presents itself to me.
Beautiful shots, Mike. No need to apologize here! Quite a tail!
Thanks. I guess I never before realized how impressive a fox’s tail could be, especially when the fox is in motion.
Excellent catch..:-))
This is my kind of a fox hunt. No need for dogs, horses, or guns.
Fantastic shots. The snow really makes a wonderful contrast. Your luck is holding at spotting animals and then you know what to do.
Thanks, Lyle. Your series of shots of a fox hunting were some of my favorite images of last year and I remember thinking that there was no way that I could get shots like that, but I feel like I am inching my way in that direction. My heart was pounding when I saw this fox running–I think I understand better now how hard it is to control yourself when you are confronted by this kind of situation. After thousands of shutter clicks this past year, though, I am processing information and reacting more quickly (and I am having an amazing run of good luck in seeing animals in the wild).
Great shot, Mike! Wow.
Thanks. I was pretty excited when I saw the fox, but am glad I had the presence of mind to start shooting with my camera.
awesome capture mike, I love all of them. I think the first image dose stands out from the rest a little more though. Great Job, Michael 🙂
Thanks, Michael. I feel like I am getting a bit quicker in reacting when things happen (and am fortunate that I have stumbled on all kinds of interesting things recently, like this fox).
There’s a lot to be said for having the presence of mind that allows you to react quickly in a situation like that. I’ve seen foxes but I haven’t got a single photo of one. My problem is I get so interested in watching the animals that sometimes I forget I even have a camera. These shots are excellent.
Thanks, Allen. I am getting better at bringing my camera up quickly and shooting (and now tend to keep it on burst mode).
When I’m in the woods, I usually have the burst mode on–not just for the chance of getting a chance of a critter in motion, but also because, for my still-life and landscape shots, I normally bracket my exposures so I can work with the one(s) that has/have the best exposure–especially under challenging light conditions. And it pays off, in both situations.
Thanks for the tip. I’ve grown much more comfortable with my camera over time and now try to be conscious of the settings as I move about.
Oh, by the way, I meant to say these are really terrific. And what magnificent condition he’s in!
Thanks, Gary. I have no idea what the fox eats, but apparently there is no food shortage for it.
He’s a beauty! I wonder if this is the same one that you have seen before? Same area as your last fox encounter? Maybe a mated pair?? If so, it might be fun to look for a den, in a high bank.
I saw it from the same vantage point as my previous spotting. It would be tough, though, to find the den, though, because so much of the ground is marshy. For example, there is no way I could even follow the path that the fox took, as it circled part of the perimeter of the beaver pond.
Brilliant photographs. It looks such a healthy animal, not like the suburban animals I see in the UK.
One of my other readers made a similar comment about an earlier photo I posted of a fox. I had no idea that foxes were considered suburban dwellers in the UK–I always think of them as wild, elusive animals.
Keep up the good work and continue to fuel your passion!
As a tip, always return your camera settings to something workable for any situation in your immediate environment eg. Shooting Mode, ISO, AF Focus Mode, and pre-meter on something mid tone. That way, all you need to do is turn on the camera and compose quickly. All the other fiddling is done.
Say “hi” to Cindy.
Thanks for the tip. There have already been a few situations when I have been caught with really wrong settings that have kept me from getting a shot. I tend to use exposure compensation fairly often and that is the one that I always have to remember to bring back to the middle. (I am also becoming much more aware of my settings and am learning to adapt on the fly (wildlife shooting will do that). I’ll say “hi” to Cindy in a few days when she finally returns from an extended trip.
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