Fox Cub ...hes grown up a bit.

Forbiddenbiker

Forbiddenbiker

The Enforcer
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Name
Adam
Edit My Images
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Yesterday, Just got home from work, bags, tools, phone and camera in my hands (with 70-20omm attached) I let the cat out of the patio doors and who's caught with his pants down ... F-stop the cub in my flower bed ... he freezes for a moment as do I ...Hes looking at the cat and not me ... he moves out into the clearing and sits down defiantly, staring at my cat in a obvious stand off.

Hes not noticed tall me standing in the shadow ...

So I lift my camera to my eye whists crouching down and making exposure adjustments... click and bingo! ... one shot fired ... loud shutter in the quiet garden and hes gone in a instant.

Too late, I have him, whooohaaaa.

Foxcub2.jpg



More about this fox and others found in my garden here on my blog.

Question ...is this image sharp enough?
 
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What a corking capture (y)

Good description of the done deed too :)

My little panasonic FZ18 has a facility for turning off the shutter click, does that not apply to proper cameras?

Edit:- It is a bit soft.
 
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For Ant:
I dunno I haven't got one of those, mines a d70. :D ... I don't think the good ones do it either though.... There is actually a big mechanical shutter in all pro-ish dslrs I think, so they all make the noise to some degree, cannons are quieter than Nikon's I believe.

Thanks for the comment Ant, ...a little soft eh, okay ta. (y)
 
Great capture and presence of mind to be ready. I was driving down a road in the Dordogne the other day, when up the road came a wolf. My camera was in the back of the car in a bag - too late, the maiden cried. He'd gone before I could find the bag. Well done.
 
LadyLens said:
:woot: yey!! Lovely capture Ad and my hasnt he grown into a handsome fella
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hasn't he, big nasty boils disapeared from next to his ear thankfully ...that if this is F-stop not the other one... :shrug: :D

MarkWoodhall22 said:
Great shot, I think it looks sharp enough! :)
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Thanks Mark, (y) one for sharp enough one for not sharp enough, okay ta. :D
 
Well how lucky are you!! Good capture (y) Looks pretty sharp from where I'm sitting.
 
rh1944 said:
Great capture and presence of mind to be ready. I was driving down a road in the Dordogne the other day, when up the road came a wolf. My camera was in the back of the car in a bag - too late, the maiden cried. He'd gone before I could find the bag. Well done.
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Oooh blimey that was close Russell, wouldn't that have been some shot, I know just how you must feel. :puke:

I tend to have my camera with lens attached on my vans passenger seat all day (I'm mobile motorcycle mechanic) not many wolves around in london but I have caught many crackers of people and alike just because I have my camera ready at all times.

I occasionally forget to prepare ... and thats always the time the next best cracker comes along ...Oh poo, damn missed it.
 
Adam, fantastic shot, it is a teeny bit soft, but the tiniest of tweaks fixes it no problem, have probably over cooked the saturation on this, but only applied mild USM to it, and the sharpness is improved considerably :)

Foxcub2.jpg
 
Secret is Adam, never go over 15 with the saturation in Photoshop, and adjust slowly so you dont overcook the greens :) can always reduce the green level a touch in editing too :)

Settings for USM were on the lightness layer in Image > Mode > Lab Colour.

Amount 100
Radius 0.2
Threshold 0

Apply this as many times as necessary, then change back to RGB colour.
 
In an attempt to nail this 'sharpening for web' down to a method that suites me....

I've pulled up the colour a little from the original too, as I liked Ians take on it...


This first is the original you see on my first post, ...I ve done more gently re-sharpened using USM, before resizing, ..then run straight through the fireworks web software I use to resize for the web.
Foxcub2PSS.jpg



This second is the original after resizing, re-sharpened in my Fireworks software for the web. (only one setting for sharping)
Foxcub2FWS.jpg




The second does look good, but am I getting halos or near.


Hmmm ....
 
IanC_UK said:
Secret is Adam, never go over 15 with the saturation in Photoshop, and adjust slowly so you dont overcook the greens :) can always reduce the green level a touch in editing too :)

Settings for USM were on the lightness layer in Image > Mode > Lab Colour.

Amount 100
Radius 0.2
Threshold 0

Apply this as many times as necessary, then change back to RGB colour.
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Soz Ian, missed that. ... I'm using around 40% at 0.6 radius, thresh 0.

I'd forgotten about the lightness layer sharpen too ... Ah yes ...so many ways to do this its well confusing at times, which way for what type and for what size...thanks for that reminder. (y)

I don't really do saturation any more at all, I use 'colour match' to intensify and luminosity to lift, seems nice and gentle compared to the saturation slider I find...dunno, might just be because I have trouble sliding the slider a short distance. :D
 
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Geordi69 said:
Absolutly amazing capture.
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Thanks Geordi. :)

IanC_UK said:
Adam, resize it first, then USM :)

I resize, levels, USM
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Yeah, I got that bit m8. ... its just me having been using Fireworks for years for web stuff, it does all my logo and sig too ... I like it, trying to find a way to carry on using it, its a heck of a tool I find.
 
Great shot :) Our tame fox appears to be dead now :( His forefathers had been visiting us for many years and the last one was actually brought down by his father and shown our garden -obviously as somewhere to get a regular nightly feed :LOL:
 
Great "face on" shot Adam (y)
Nice edit too Ian
 
To Ian:
Hmmm yes ... I guess that is possible ... I don't want to swap it around too much though, quality and all that.

I may just have to use PS all the way through by the looks of it.

This is APS all the way through, tiny bit of colour enhancement, following your settings after resizing 100%. 0.2 rad. thresh 0. on a lightness layer in lab mode..then saved for web, file size etc..

Foxcub2PSSR.jpg




Looks good .. still a tad light ... but good enough for this test. ... I'm nearly convinced, :) (y) Cheers Ian. (y)
 
Thats a shame about your visiting fox Flash.



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I like your edit Forbidden, though I realise you aint finished yet :)

And ta for the info on the big cameras :D
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Great shot :) Our tame fox appears to be dead now :( His forefathers had been visiting us for many years and the last one was actually brought down by his father and shown our garden -obviously as somewhere to get a regular nightly feed :LOL:
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:D ... I think the same applies to my foxy visitors Flash, its the friendly quiet garden with the harmless big eyed man they must think.

Must have been a treat to have one tamed, wow, not to flea ridden then? .. I've had some right mingers over the years.

Cobra said:
Great "face on" shot Adam (y)
Nice edit too Ian
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Cheers Chris. ... they do seemed to pose for me very readily. :shrug: ...I must have a friendly face or something. :puke: ...ta m8. :)
 
Adam, i applied the USM 4 or 5 times you can go more but you will see editing artifacts appearing if you push it too far.

Is a great shot in the first place, the edits are just bringing it out of its shell :)
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
:D ... I think the same applies to my foxy visitors Flash, its the friendly quiet garden with the harmless big eyed man they must think.

Must have been a treat to have one tamed, wow, not to flea ridden then? .. I've had some right mingers over the years.
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When I say "tame" I mean not ripping the bins to bits or causing any hassle :LOL:

Mind you I once saw our cat chasing one of the foxes down the road, so maybe they were all too scared of him to make a mess :LOL:
 
IanC_UK said:
Adam, i applied the USM 4 or 5 times you can go more but you will see editing artifacts appearing if you push it too far.
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Ah yes ta, you did say that .... that'll be that tad more you've gotten out of yours then. Nice one Ian. :)

IanC_UK said:
Is a great shot in the first place, the edits are just bringing it out of its shell :)
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Yea I quite agree ... I have used sharpening to make my foxy shots pop a bit before, I quite like masking out the backgrounds of sharpened layers, and then doing a 'High pass' sharpen on a final layer, still masking out the background with a little thought. ... this one was done like that, one USM at my first settings as above, then one High Pass at 10. & opacity at 20-25% for the hard light filter.

... I'll remember to use the lightness layer next time too.

Thanks for helping me get this sorted Ian. :) (y)
 
Flash In The Pan said:
When I say "tame" I mean not ripping the bins to bits or causing any hassle :LOL:

Mind you I once saw our cat chasing one of the foxes down the road, so maybe they were all too scared of him to make a mess :LOL:
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Ah, I see, not tame at all then. :D I kinda had you pictured feeding it sausages of the summer garden table as your party piece.

My cat used to chase this one, But by the looks of the way he sat down and started at her I think the tables must have turned...

..I'll have to back her up when shes next going for it, poor little cat, mad but tiny. :( :LOL:


taxi said:
great photo and chance encounter taken well
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Thanks taxi. :)
 
Adam Great shot. I know what you mean about shutter noise my 20D has the same problem, but I would'nt change it.

Pete
 
Cracking shot Adam.

Had a bit of a do here yesterday at Northstreet Towers. One of the cats chased a ducking in to our lounge!!! To cut a long story short we took it outside and found the mother. Trouble was they were eventually joined by 3 other ducklings! In order to keep them out of the road had to stay with them so couldn't rush back in to house to get camera. Didn't want to spook them either. Eventually the local wildcare trust came to take them away to their sanctuary.
 
Thanks for the comment Gary. :)

pete-c said:
Adam Great shot. I know what you mean about shutter noise my 20D has the same problem, but I would'nt change it.

Pete
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Yep, they all have that problem, bloody things. ;) cheers for the comment Pete.

King of Groove said:
Cracking shot Adam.

Had a bit of a do here yesterday at Northstreet Towers. One of the cats chased a ducking in to our lounge!!! To cut a long story short we took it outside and found the mother. Trouble was they were eventually joined by 3 other ducklings! In order to keep them out of the road had to stay with them so couldn't rush back in to house to get camera. Didn't want to spook them either. Eventually the local wildcare trust came to take them away to their sanctuary.
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Awww, your such a softie m8 ... I can see myself doing the same unfortuantly, hehe. Ta KoG. :)

InaGlo said:
**Splutter**


Seriously, I find this a gorgeous shot as is, & it also appears to sharpen up very nicely.

Beautiful creature, you must be really chuffed Adam
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:LOL: ... not quite the right choice of words I'll agree Gloria. :bang:

... if I say they where all real foxy would that help. :nuts: :LOL:

Thanks for your comments Glo, btw, have you ever looked up the meaning of 'chuffed' ...you'd be horrified to know I'm afraid. ;)



hypnotic said:
Great capture again Adam ...

With any luck you may also see his pups one day.
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Yea, I guess thats likely next year, fingers crossed. I think I've caught three generations so far, since 2005 ish. ..they're all logged on my blog.

Ta for the comment m8. :) (y)
 
Fantastic shot, he looks on point & alert. (y)

I need to get out into the local woods with my 75-300 and give it a test out, hardly used it.
 
Excellent shot Adam, with great eye contact - just looks like he sat posing for you!
 
Thanks Cheryl :) They all love to pose for me... I think purely because there looking where the threat is i think, somewhere in that dark room through the patio doors ...which is where I am shooting from.

... ok the truth is out hes actually hired from a taxidermist ... I get him out once a month, crack his legs into new positions and then post up the new shots here to fulfill my ego. ... :shrug: :(

:D

cosmix3 said:
Cracking shot.
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Thanks Cosmix. :)(y)

Little Man said:
Fantastic shot, he looks on point & alert.

I need to get out into the local woods with my 75-300 and give it a test out, hardly used it.
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You do, take tea and sandwiches and a large blanket to cover yourself with a hole In it ...if they can't see you, your just a harmless hump to them. (y)

Thanks for your comments LM, hes defo on alert, ready to front out my cat for sure this time. :)
 
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