ALPHA Stare
by William Bickle
Alpha Stare
This area has been without many Fox for some seasons now. I have noticed over the last couple years a slight resurgence of these impressive animals. Located within our land there seems to be several fox dens in use. The mother fox continues to move the brood every few days, probably to keep the kits safe while she is away hunting for their next meal. Maybe the new fox are from the last couple seasons and are sharing the territory now.
What I like about this capture is the detailed features, intense stare and its Alpha attitude! Taken while lying prone and shooting through the grasses. The OOF foreground is not ideal but was what was offered up at the time.
This Red Fox Kit Red Fox ( Vulpes vulpes) is showing signs of its personality, even at this early stage in its life.
As I watched the four kits interact with each other , there was already a perceived pecking order within this litter.
Taken in MOIRA @ Stonehearst Farm
Nikon D600 & Nikon 200-400mm F4 VR lens @380mm.
Hand held while lying on ground
Speed @ 1/400, F6.3, ISO 450, -.67 Meter adj.
Late Afternoon with intermittent Cloud cover
Not Baited, Not called in, Not lured in, WILD FOX
Comments and Critique appreciated
Bill
Comments
10 commentsMax
Marvelous. is all that is needed
Cute little devils! The stare of the kit on the left is classic - and I really like the lighting here too. While not always a fan of square crops, I think in this situation it fits the subject matter well. Some might argue it's a bit tight on top, but works for me as posted.
I've looked at this one a couple times and initially I was troubled about how out-of-focus the kit to the right is. But upon reflection I think it's not fully the out-of-focus nature that bothers me, but a combination of how out-of-focus it is and how close it is to the subject. In other words, I wish there was a bit more of a gap between the two kits. But that's perfect world stuff...and it's still a fun and interesting shot exactly as presented.
Cheers...
Brad
I feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity to witness first hand the coming and going of these beautiful little guys. The brood has moved on now and has been away now for two weeks, maybe they will return ?
The interactions were a treat to see and attempt to capture their quick animated movements. The kits were very curious and would look in my direction at times , but I stayed very quiet and did not move.(Red foxes have binocular vision, but their sight reacts mainly to movement.)
I used a 400mm lens mostly and feel the next encounter will allow me to attempt to use a shorter lens with great DOF capabilities . We are starting to see more Ticks now in this area and have witnessed several on these kits at times. Mostly seem to be Dog ticks and not the Deer tick which carries the dreaded Lyme .
Cheers
Bill
Thanks for the critique. Yes That suggested increased F stop would have brought in the DOF better. These young characters were full of it , rolling, Biting, climbing, and sibling rivalry as shown here! The movements were many and I had another lens with me that I switched and mounted on the same camera to get a Close comparison between shots and between each lens. I was enjoying the romp but my main interest at this time was to compare lenses under similar circumstances with the very close to same settings that I already had decided, prior to this encounter.
If I get another opportunity and the Kits return I'll approach the Kits with another focus , from what I learned while enjoying this romp. Probably different lenses and different lighting etc...!:)
Cheers
Bill