JUDY CRONJÉ

IG: @sa_sigeuner Canon EOS 80D Tamron 150 – 600 mm lens JUDY WRITES:

I took this photo in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in September 2023. We stayed at Grootkolk wilderness camp and saw two bat-eared foxes in roughly the same place every afternoon around sunset.

But they were always a little too far away for my long zoom lens.

On the last day of our visit, one of the foxes walked across the road only a few metres from our vehicle. It looked both ways before crossing… and I got my shot!

My settings: shutter speed 1/800 second; aperture f6.3; ISO 800.

TOAST SAYS:

Bat-eared foxes are simply adorable. Judy’s portrait shows the unique character of this animal. What does he (or she?) look like to you? I imagine this little guy might work in a post office where he sticks stamps on envelopes and sorts the mail. Or maybe he’s a Formula 1 racer in red overalls, chewing gum at a pit stop?

Judy took the photo at 5.45 pm. The soft afternoon light beautifully highlights the texture of the fox’s fur and there’s enough of a sparkle in the eyes to make them look like brown marbles.

When you use an older D-SLR camera like Judy’s Canon EOS 80D (the model dates from 2016), it’s best not to set your ISO too high because the image might look grainy. The technology has since improved and newer cameras (especially modern mirrorless wonders) can shoot at ISO 6 400 or higher without any real image degradation.

Judy’s settings were spot on. Her ISO of 800 allowed her to use a relatively fast shutter speed of 1/800 second. If you stabilise your camera you can get away with it, even if you’re shooting with a 150 – 600 mm cannon.