Patience is a virtue

The aches and pains are easing but now i am getting blinding headaches, 2 steps forwards and 1 back but at least the pain killers are helping, Hopefully in a day or 2 it will be back to normal, Last night i sat out again hoping for some fox images, Not just any fox images, I wanted a fox to stand up against the tree like the recent opossum images, I pushed some small pieces of dog food into the bark of the tree and placed a few pieces around a couple of trees, I didnt have to wait long before a fox entered the garden and spent 20 minutes walking around the garden scent marking, It fed a couple of times and was very nervous and then left, I could hear it going down the woodland between the houses, I put my head in my hands as my head was very painful and when i looked up there was another fox feeding right in front of me, It was split ear, The male that i have shot before, It hung around for a while and gave me plenty of opportunities for shots but i held back and waited, The fox looked up the tree and took a couple of pieces placed low down and i thought it was about to stand up when it looked behind and shot off, A few minutes later 4 deer came out of the woods and fed on some corn i had placed, Once again i sat back and put my head in my hands and again i looked up and to my surprise there were 2 raccoons around the baited tree, I have never seen more than 1 so it was great to see, they sniffed the air and left to my right, A few minutes later another raccoon entered the garden at the end on my left so there must be at least 3, This one walked along sniffing the air and came up to the baited tree and without thought stood up and started to pick the food out of the bark, I grabbed a few shots as it looked around and then it left, I decided enough was enough and left, I put a few extra pieces of food out just in case something else came and within 20 minutes of coming in i watched a pale grey opossum came up to the tree and fed, Some night, Cant wait to feel better and spend more time out there, the weather is very comfortable and you can sit out in just a thin shirt and still be warm

Favorite shot of the night


Dave

A wet night

I have shot every night in the garden for the last week, Usual suspects with the deer, fox and opossum coming every night and i just missed the raccoon the other night and watched it arrive 30 minutes after i had packed up, We have had plenty of rain this week which is much needed but unusual, You do not realize how much it rains in Europe and especially the UK until you live somewhere like North Carolina, I am not complaining by any means, My set up is dry as i am basically shooting from under the house and with the use of some ziplock freezer bags the flash guns stay nice and dry as well, I used Lumiquest diffusers on the from flashguns and had 2 flashguns at the back with 1 one them pointing back towards the baited area to lighten any heavy shadows on the back of the animal, I at first had some problems in setting up with the flashgun pointing back as the light would bleed into the picture, I used the center out of a toilet roll and cut it in half length wise and tapped it to the side of the flashgun to stop the light coming directly back at me and it worked a treat,


The image wasn't exactly how i planned it but is ok and nice just to have the chance to photograph these guys, The other fox comes and goes and although you see them in the garden together they seem to have some room between them so i am not sure if its 2 males or a male and female, I think due to the size difference it a pair,
I have started to squeeze some food into the bark of the tree in the hope of the opossum climbing or the fox standing up against it

Dave