Fox family goes a-huntin' again...

Rustydon

Rustydon

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Name
Russ
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Yes
...I managed to get just a little bit closer to this family of 3 last evening:

Dad with mole for tea, hotly pursued by Junior:
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15 mins later, Junior re-appeared and ran towards Mum:
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Mum with rabbit awaits Junior:
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Junior begs rabbit from Mum:
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happy Junior makes off with rabbit:
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Time to go home!

Russ
 
Great interactions Russ, well done on getting them (y)
 
Great set Russ (y)

Living in sheep farming country we don't see many foxes!
 
gramps said:
Great interactions Russ, well done on getting them (y)
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- many thanks Roger :)
- it was well worth the 2 hour wait before they appeared, and also thanks are due to my neighbour who let me sit at the end of his garden to catch the action!

Russ
 
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Phil-D said:
Great set Russ (y) Living in sheep farming country we don't see many foxes!
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- cheers Phil :)
- these foxes are in a paddock behind my house, adjacent to the Polar Bear enclosures at Yorkshire Wildlife Park - a decent strong high fence separates us :eek: - but stops me getting any closer to the foxes!

Russ
 
Russ are these with the 2xiii? Just curious mate because of the fence you are scuppered to get closer Ha, It's wonderful to just watch,these interactions isn't it . Keep plodding away Russ sooner or later they might just give you a closer chance......... although the above are loverly and tell us a story it would be nice for you to get a closer chance or 7:D

all the luck

stu
 
Hi Stu
They are taken with a x1.4iiiTC on the 400mm DO which seems to be my standard set-up at present. I managed to get a bit closer by camping just at the end of my neighbour's garden which probably brought me 10m closer due to the curve in the blessed fence! I'll persevere, but they're not showing now until after 8.15pm and the light's getting poor :)

Russ
 
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560mm Seems to be my standard set up too Russ,although I'm trying to go out with the bare lens more often, my own confidence in my own ability to get close gets in my way.sad;y..

I asked simply because in your senario where you have no way of closer access you might have used it (2X) already ,must be worth a pop mate? There is a bit of an IQ hit sure and AF a bit slower.But didn't You used the 300 alot with the 2Xiii didn't you? Is there any reason you haven't used the bigger ext?.

Echoing Les' comment It's tough being locked up,,I can't really access what I could,as of yet. But nature is a real help, we stood watching our vixen nurse one of the cubs last night , Food for the soul ,so I have a good idea what these mean to you.

Keep shooting bro i'm still hoping for a kidlet GSW to turn up for you... there is defintely still time

all the luck mate
 
Hi Stu
Because these shots were late evening (circa 8pm onward) and in varying light, and the foxes were all on the move, I decided to stay with the x1.4TC rather than the x2 TC as I'm happier with it's IQ and AF performance as you suggest, and physical balance is better too. What I did manage to do last night was to de-camp to the bottom of yet another neighbour's garden to get even closer to the action- but the foxes did not turn up!! That's wildlife for you!
Regarding the 300mm lens I previously used, it was heavier and I only hand-held it occasionally with a x2TC because of weight and poor balance in my ageing arms - one of the reasons for my move to the 400 DO for my style of photography.
I don't think the time would pass nearly so well for me during lockdown without all the wildlife opportunities that I can find in/around/above my quite small garden. Same for you, I imagine Stu

Keep believing :)

Russ
 
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Nice set , the cubs wont be going hungry by the looks of things . Going back to using the 2x , like you and your 300 , I almost have my 2x fixed on my 300 permanent . Maybe you could put your camera on a monopod and try the 2x , that extra reach has to be worth a roll of the dice , particularly if your cropping in ?
 
Lepus said:
Nice set , the cubs wont be going hungry by the looks of things . Going back to using the 2x , like you and your 300 , I almost have my 2x fixed on my 300 permanent . Maybe you could put your camera on a monopod and try the 2x , that extra reach has to be worth a roll of the dice , particularly if your cropping in ?
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- Cheers Mark the monopod + x2TC is worth a try next time the weather picks up in the evenings up here :)
- in the meantime this grab shot of my male Fox as it took me by surprise by running out in the paddock from no-where at 9.10 last night:
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.....shot at ISO 25,600 - thank goodness for Topaz DeNoise :)

Russ
 
Russ what camera body are you using may I ask , that last pic is impressive and I wouldn`t of guessed you used Topaz on it . I might have to invest in it .
 
Lepus said:
Russ what camera body are you using may I ask , that last pic is impressive and I wouldn`t of guessed you used Topaz on it . I might have to invest in it .
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- Hi Mark
I moved from a Canon 7Dii to Canon 1DXii (secondhand) in September last year, and from a Canon 300 F/2.8ii to a Canon 400 F4 Doii (secondhand) in January this year. The 1DXii is a beast, but coupled with the 400DO gives me exactly what I need for my style of photography. I purchased Topaz DeNoise in March this year and am delighted with it's performance.

A Jpeg of the above image, cropped and mildly processed in LR, before processing in Topaz:

1DXii; 400 F4 DOii + x1.4iii; ISO25,600; f/5.6; 1/1000s handheld:
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I think you can see the benefit of Topaz; it gives me so much better noise reduction and sharpening in one pass than I could ever achieve in Lightroom!

Russ

;
 
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oh boy that`s a world of difference , thanks for sharing that info Russ , I used some de noise software in the past , but it basically just smoothed the background...unless it was my ham handed processing :D , that Topaz looks much more natural and useable .
 
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