In its persistent quest for survival in Yellowstone, this stunning creature roams the dark forest looking for ways to sustain itself in this, the most brutal of seasons. She is fit for the task though. She wears a plush coat of long hair. She can curl up tight, tucking her nose under her scarf-like tale. Her sense of hearing is second-to-none, being able to locate rodents scampering around under the deep cover of snow. She was made for places like this and I was honored to be able to sit in the snow beneath a tree and watch her do her thing for a few delightful moments.
With all the snow in Yellowstone this year, there was nowhere to pull off when we saw this fox in the distance. We drove up to the nearest pull out and I walked back several hundred yards to where I’d seen the fox. Someone was kind enough to roll down their window and let me know the fox was moving in my direction and was just behind a little hill near me. I thanked him, walked off the road and knelt in the snow under a tree. Just a few minutes later, this Fox came by and gave me a great photo-op.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
It was late in the day and the sun was behind thick clouds so lighting was not really good. I knew how I wanted to process this image as I was shooting. It took me several edits, but I finally landed here. I wonder if the highlighted area around the fox is overdone? I have tried not to oversaturate the fox, which is often a temptation for me. I was going for a more soft, almost moonlight look here.
Technical Details
I rented a Z9 for this trip, along with the new Z800, f/6.3. It was an intimidating camera body to set up, but I could easily learn to love it! ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/2500 sec. I used the masking tool in Lightroom Classic CC to darken the background, add contrast and clarity to the foreground, soften the details on the fox, and add the brighter area around the fox.
WOW!! This is beyond wonderful!!! The lighting looks completely natural, the detail on the fox is perfect and the BG is to die for!! (What did I leave out?) Your effort deserved this fantastic reward!!!
Thanks for sharing the photo and the story. Quite an enviable experience. Foxes just have a certain appeal. Maybe it’s because they are canines and we love dogs or that they are striking and beautiful. Or maybe its their many interesting behaviors and liveliness. Whatever it is, you caught some of it here. Mystery and an independence we envy.
Overall it’s quite subdued and makes me study it because it’s so dark. Keep that for sure, but you could lighten up just a bit to make the center highlight a bit less contrived. Maybe a larger gradient for whatever tool you used to make the vignette. Something that blends more subtly from the fox to the edges. It’s difficult with snow because it reflects any light source and is so uniform in the way it does that in the open like this scene. The saturation on the fox looks natural and not overdone to me. If you do have a stab at processing again, you might just very gently, lift the exposure on her face.
If you do make changes and have a second edit, you can add that to your original post by clicking the pencil (edit) icon. This allows us to compare both photos in the viewer one after the other. You can also edit the title with something like + 1 Rework or similar to alert the group that you have done it.
Thanks so much Kristen. That was great advice and I love the result. I also removed the bit of snow on its nose as, although a bit adorable, it was also sort of distracting, especially after lightening that area.
Oh wow that’s just gorgeous. Definitely looks more natural to me and puts our attention on her and not the processing. Actually I think the nose snow helped define it against the dark background. Without it, her nose almost totally disappears. Just an idea. She’s a beauty.
Really love this image Paul, as it tells a great story of how these creatures survive in this harsh environment. Good job on the processing with the brightening around the fox which really highlights the subject.
