Naomi Stolow

A lovely attempt to capture the spirit of a fox in a photograph

Naomi says: I took this photo in North Devon at a small centre for British wildlife.

After watching the fox for a while, I thought I would try to see if I could capture what I feel is the ‘spirit’ of the fox – in particular its alert and nimble nature, its beautiful orange fur and to take a portrait of its expressive, pointed face.

I like that I have captured the rich and bright brown eyes sharply and that the whole head and whiskers are in focus; and I think I’ve caught the lightness of its step. To me it looks intent on getting somewhere, and I like the determined gaze.

Conditions were dark and very wet and the fox was moving incredibly fast – which meant capturing it at all with my camera was tough! The exposure was 1/4,000 sec at f/5.6 and ISO 1,600.

Andrew says: There is a lot to like in this photo – and in your description of this fox.

I’m very taken by the fact you are more interested in capturing what you see as your subject’s essence rather than getting bogged down in any of the technical aspects of taking a shot.

As it happens, the exposure side is first-class anyway. Your shutter speed choice is excellent for such a fleet-offoot animal, and this has resulted in a crisp, sharp shot. A lot of the image’s success is in those eyes – they’re bright and engaging. Who wouldn’t be won over by such a beautiful creature?

Where I feel your image strays off is in its composition and the viewpoint you’ve shot from. It may not have been possible, but I’d love this image more if we were on the fox’s level. This way we’d feel more part of its world, rather than as if we are looking in on it from the outside.

I don’t mind the grass and general vegetation as it’s all quite natural, but the big clump of it on the left feels too much. I’d crop a bit in from the left-hand side just to balance the framing better.