Early bird gets the worm
or early photographer gets the shot?
There’s been a shift in me, ever since the fox decided to move in to my neck of the woods. Twice I’ve written about her now:
Because of her appearance, I borrowed a proper wildlife lens from a colleague. The M.Zuiko 300mm F4.0. As a result, I’ve wanted to use it as much as I can while I have it. So I have done what wildlife photographers do:
Gotten up before sunrise to be out there when the animals awake.
It’s been a fight. When the alarm goes off at five in the morning. I want nothing more than to stay warm, cozy and snuggled up with my husband and cat… “Maybe the light won’t be so good today” or “there probably won’t be any animals out there anyway”.
But we can’t know these things, so I forced myself to get up. And it has been so worth it. To sit in the silence of the morning, watching the sun rise, frost glistening in the grass, a herd of deer grazing on the field and the fox squinting in the first rays of light, her red fur a bright in the icy grass.
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to meet her again. But there she was. A small, dark shadow scurrying quickly into the trees behind the herd of deer. Trying to blend in? But she was to small to be a deer, and lacked the white butt.
I knew exactly where she was headed, and I found her. Our encounter was brief, interrupted by the daily life of humans. But it was lovely. And now I know she is still around. And as I look at the photos, I am confident she has had, or will very soon have, a litter of kits. Hopefully I can find their den and get a glimpse of them as spring progresses.
But for now, I hope you’ll enjoy my early morning photos.
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I love capturing details in nature, but feel quite restricted with the 300mm. I do foresee a whole in my wallet, and the new 50-200mm F2.8 in my future…
Live slow, stay wild // Rania
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Really good pictures. Watching wild animals in their natural environment is so amazing. In the very few times that I was fortunate enough to experience it, I felt a strong sense of peace and coexistence. Wish I could have more moments like this.
Rania, thank you so much for this. I really enjoyed your photos - but mostly, I was pulled into your video. It was wonderful and enchanting. Thank you for taking us along with you. (And yes - buy the lens!)