For many British wildlife photographers both amateur and professional among us the red fox has been the start of our passion for wildlife photography. For me the red fox was the very start of my interest in wildlife photography. Days after my 18th birthday when I received my first 35mm SLR camera I managed to snap my first wildlife photograph of a young red fox vixen. In fact I had specifically had my eye on a camera for my birthday in order to photograph her as I had been watching her for a couple of weeks. Over that summer and well into the winter I managed to photograph her numerous times, however unfortunately never got the opportunity to photograph any fox cubs.
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Just over two months ago (beginning of June) my landlord who runs a farm which I live on tipped me off about some red foxes up on the railway line. Next evening I walked over to a crossing over the railway line used for getting cows to and from the milking parlour. Being June there was still plenty of light by the time I got home from work about 6:30pm and I made the short walk through the farmyard and over a field to the line.
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All I wanted to do initially was to see if I could see the foxes as I didn't yet know exactly where they where. I must admit I expected to see them earlier, they didn't actually appear until 9:00o'Clock. This was potentially going make things tricky as by then light was very low for any photography.
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As a part time wildlife photographer as I like to look at myself I do not exactly plan photography shoots or projects, I always have an idea of what I'd like to do in the space of a year, but unfortunately these plans have to come second to my full time job. Much of my wildlife photography therefore is a result of tip-offs or from me taking full advantage of any opportunities that come my way, whether I'm driving a car or not. As oppose to a full time wildlife photographer planning shots before he or she has got on location I generally plan specific shots when I am there.
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The first week of visiting the railway foxes I was able to figure out where I would be able to photograph them and also that luckily they where appearing earlier than 9:00o'Clock.
The cubs that appeared seemed to be about 8 weeks old, I was slightly disappointed not to catch them younger however the earth was completely inaccessible and being much younger they would not have strayed far out of the entrance to it anyway. |
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I am not a fan of camoflauge, hides or any traditional methods of wildlife photography come to think of it, so when I visited the fox site I generally just sat down by the gate at the railway crossing and waited for the fox cubs to appear. Foxes at this age are bold and inquisitive so despite knowing I was there after a week they where not too bothered by me although they would still keep some distance which meant with a my maximum focal length lens at 300mm it was going to be challenge. Two of the cubs would generally appear first and relax across and slightly further up (approx 60ft) the track from me.
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One of the biggest attractions for me to wildlife photography is the opportunity to observe wildlife at close quarters, if you can make an animal aware and comfortable with your presence then you have a much better chance of achieving the photographs you want.
Wildlife photography for me is an art, therefore I measure every photo as I would any other piece of art. Basically would I put it on my wall!
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