Today's fox

[Steve Foss]

Here are two from today. I'd gone to photograph the Ely skiers at the state Nordic ski meet in Biwabik. Car broke down 17 miles from home. Got these picks after walking 8 of those miles along side of highway. Fox crossed road ahead of me and stayed close by.

I DON'T recommend walking that far along the side of a paved highway in mukluks. Blisters! Actually, I made 10 miles and thumbed for rides as 76 people drove by without stopping. Minnesota nice? NOT! Reminds me of the old joke up here: How can you tell someone with Alzheimer's is from the Range? They've forgotten everything but the grudges. Now, I have a grude to remember.

Finally, who should happen by along the highway today but Chunkytrout. I guess a guy's gotta have at least ONE friend. Well, and that one friend should be in the right place at the right time.

Thanks, Chunkytrout!

If you think the images are a little soft, you're right. That's on purpose. I HATE oversharpened images.

Canon 20D, Canon 100-400L f4.5-5.6 Image Stabilizer, handheld. ISO 200, 1/640 sec, f6.3, 400mm.

Canon 20D, Canon 100-400L f4.5-5.6 Image Stabilizer, handheld. ISO 200, 1/1000 sec, f6.3, 400mm

[Deitz Dittrich]

Steve, had I been one of those 76 cars.. I would be embarassed... I would have stopped and at the very least offered you a cell phone.. On a side note.. thanks to those 76.. what a great pict!!!! Poosibly one of my fave ever posted on FM... they eyes of that fox seem to talk to me! Really a touching picture.

[Dan Thiem]

Very cool pictures Steve! Looks like a young one. No battle scars.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks D. The fox even matches my hair and beard — uh, right down to the gray!

[Tom Wilson]

Very Nice Steve, The first one is gorgeous.

Tom W

[Steve Foss]

Dan, I don't know about that young one thing. The second shot looks an awful lot like a veteran husband slinking off to the fridge for another cold one while the wife's occupied somewhere else.

[Steve Foss]

Oh, Tom, you snuck in there! Well, thanks, Mr. W. That fox actually was more comfortable in my presence than both my ex-wives. Although, like them, when I took a couple steps toward the fox it snuck away.

[Dbl]

Beautiful shots. That is a lot of miles to walk for a good picture

[Steve Foss]

I'll tell you Dbl, I was steamed for awhile. But when I got home and looked at all those great XC ski images, the fox images and the northern hawk owl images, I realized that there have been many days when I've walked that far through wilderness trails and come back with less than today's take.

So that makes it a GOOD day! And, heck, it's not like I can't afford to lose a few pounds. I could lose the blisters too, though.

[buzzsaw]

Thats a couple awesome pictures Steve! Are your legs a bit tired today? It's amazing that so many people would drive by you in the middle of nowhere and not lend a helping hand... I would have been so peeved & frustrated. Anyways nice pics, lucky it wasn't like the crazy wild Woodchuck that almost ate my leg yesterday.

[vermilionfox]

Awesome pics Steve!

How can I get one?

E-mail me [email protected]

[Steve Foss]

You've got mail! The image will be on my Web site later today.

[jonny_redhorse]

Very nice Steve!.....great shots for sure!.......a little "soft" for me but certainly not really in the "hate" department....lol! ........as we all know art and photography are like an oil painting(here we go again.lol!).......it's why there's a yellow car for a certain guy and a black one for another.......I tend to lean on crisper sharper images(just a chosen style I prefer).....you're images are wonderful....soft or crisp......as an added note....now I know why in an earlier post you mentioned one of my photos was "nice"(snow scene photo) but you mentioned a little to "sharpened"....lol!......alot of people like my "sharp" photos.....never thought it to be in the "hate" department...... ...guess one learns everyday ......here's an example of a "sharp " image that someone took note of(up in your area) and apparently liked enough to use...jonny

http://www.bwca.cc/wildlife/deer.html

[buzzsaw]

I like "in general" sharper images as well, but there is a time and a place for softer images and the individual just has to make what he or she believes to be the right choice.... Catfish really blew this one... ha ha just kidding! Honestly, if you could somehow get those sticks off of the fox on the right hand side of the picture it would be fit for a magazine! I'm not sure if you could or would want to try in photoshop, just a thought.

Keep the good pics coming!

[bullyfish]

I love the first picture. He looks so good against the white of the snow! Wonderful pic!

[Steve Foss]

Hey buzz:

It's easily accomplished in photoshop. I've done that many times before, but there's a limit to what I'll do to manipulate a photo. Those limits are different for each photographer. Since those twigs were there and a real part of the situation (the fox wouldn't have felt comfortable sitting out in the wide open with me that close), I decided to leave them in. It's just a more accurate portrayal of the actual scene, and so that's where I drew my particular line with this image. I agree that a less cluttered foreground would be, well, less cluttered.

[MN Shutterbug]

Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Did you actually count the number of cars that passed you by? In that would have happened to me I would have been tempted to use a certain finger instead of my thumb. Unbelievable. Unless you look dangerous. After looking at your great fox shots and comparing to the fawn shot that someone posted as a link, I can see your point. I definitely prefer the slightly soft to the perfectly sharp in this situation. Did you photo the fox this way or soften it in Photoshop?

[Steve Foss]

Hey Johnny: Heck, I don't hate sharp photos. I just hate photos that are too sharp for my taste. No prob for those who like them, and in the paper I sharpen them much more than I do when making fine art prints. Nor was I taking a stab at anyone who likes their pics sharp, sharp, sharp. I also didn't mean to imply that I think photos in general on this board are too sharp, nor that certain photogs specifically sharpen their photos too much. In general, furred animals and lots of detailed, fine edges degrade more quickly when sharpening than other textures.

X-tacklman: In that roadside situation, it's hard to remember which finger I was holding up. And, uh, it's amazing how easy it is to change from a thumb to another finger after someone passes by.

Almost all digital images need some sharpening to make their definition "pop." The better the lens glass, the less sharpening is required, although lens makers often offer "soft focus" lenses designed for that artsy look. In this case, I was shooting a Canon L series lens, which is the sharpest glass Canon makes. I sharpened slightly and then ran the image through Noise Ninja, a program to eliminate digital noise and dampen grain. It softened the image just slightly, enough to suit my purposes here. For me, a bit of softness denotes romance, and helps bring an emotional response from the viewer. Softness is not right for all images, nor with the same image in all printing situations. For the paper, where I'll be running this in black and white, it's much sharper. Different speeds for different needs.

[buzzsaw]

Good explanation Steve!

Quote:

---

For me, a bit of softness denotes romance

---

It sounds like your a hopeless romantic to me!

Question Steve, I just started using Photoshop Elements 4.0 and I use the unsharp mask and less noise options... I'm still learning that program but do you think that that Ninja Noise would still help me with post processing or is it overkill?? I'm thinking overkill as my pictures haven't really been to "noisy" or grainy if you will.... what are your thoughts?

[Tom Wilson]

Well,

I had decided to sit this one out, other than the comment that I really liked the first one, but now I feel as though I have no choice but to chime in...

Steve,

Do you really have "romantic" feelings for that fox?

[Tom Wilson]

You know, now that I've had the chance to think even more about it...

She is kind of a fox!

Some might even call her Foxy!

and you know what they say about red heads!

[Steve Foss]

Well, Tom, I do, in a way feel a certain romance about that fox. But don't tell Mrs. Catfish! Maybe it's just one redhead's predilection for another.

Buzz: Noise Ninja works as a plug-in to photoshop that, once you load, you get by dragging down from the "Filter" category on the photoshop toolbar across the top. I've never used Elements, so I don't know if it'll work with that or not. I do a lot of indoor sports shooting at iso 1600 and 3200, so NN is a great addition for me. Also, no matter what iso you're shooting, if you seriously underexpose a portion of your image, you'll get noise, and NN is the best I've seen at removing it. There are other programs, but NN is the standard in the industry. It can be purchased online and downloaded. And, as you can see, if you set it right you get a nice softening affect.

[buzzsaw]

Quote:

---

Talk about being in the right place at the right time

---

I'm sorry, I just thought that was funny, poor Steve walked through two counties with non winter shoes on... I'd say he earned that picture.

[Steve Foss]

Buzz, they were Steger mukluks, about the warmest extreme cold-weather footwear you can own. Problem is, there's NO ankle support, and I don't recommend walking 10 miles on pavement in them. My blisters now have grown blisters on them!

[Dbl]

buzz, Noise Ninja does work in PE 4. I use it in almost every photo. Its about $45 with the plugin and $34 as a stand alone program. I use it as a plugin with PE 4.

Steve I can see NN at work in those photos and I think they give it a perfect look. I think NN adds just the right amount of softening to most photos. To each his own.