Over the past two years, most of the several hundred pictures of Red Fox that I have shown, have been those with nice backgrounds, or artful poses.  I have included some of a sickly fox and a few that showed a fox with prey.  The pictures I am showing today are of some siblings playing.  These images do not have that pristine background, and the poses are not perfect.  Three of these pictures  were shown before in 2009.  These guys were having the time of their life and I thought you might enjoy them.

Notice that the kits are still brown instead of red, signifying just how young they were.

We were all (photographers) very close to our subjects when these were made.  The images were shot from a pier looking back towards the lake bank.  Most of the fox images I have shown over the years were made with my trusty Nikon 500mm f4 lens but these were made with a 75-300mm zoom set anywhere from 200mm to 300mm.  Thus I had a little less control over my background.

Some of you who have been with me for a while may prefer these shots to others that I label more artful.  We all have different views of things and that makes life interesting.  I try to show you a wide variety of subjects, that are made in varied styles.

Now that real winter temperatures have hit my part of the world, I hope those of you in this area can take advantage of it.  I am sure there are people who read this blog that are from other parts of North America, as well as Europe and there a bouts.  I am seeing some great songbird/snow photography from Great Britain while America’s northeast and our mountainous west always have their share of winter.

In better days, winter was a wonderful photographic experience for this photographer.  I have spent hours laying on my stomach exploring the patterns of the frozen water we call ice. I tried my best to not miss the morning after the storm to create landscapes, and on a couple of occasions managed during the storm pictures. Sunrises/sunsets are magic in the winter. With all of that said, birds were my winter savior.

I must admit that I was more into bird photography in winter than I was even in spring,  even with all of that migration.  I also had budding trees and early woodland flowers to capture my attention in spring.  Fox families also occupied my time…..just a bit.

Summer is everything when it comes to quantity of subjects.  Not the best light. A bit hot and sweaty. Still there are those prairie flowers, ground squirrels, summer storms, insects everywhere, frogs, turtles and on.  Of course every bird that will nest here…..is here.

If you’ve been here (this blog) before I needn’t tell you about my feelings of fall.  The quiet atmosphere alone makes this season worth it.  Landscapes and macros till the cows come home.  How about the deer rut?  Of course there are also birds.

But in winter my love for birds is multiplied.  Snow Buntings, Shrikes, Rough-legged Hawks, Snowy Owls, friendly little Juncos.  Of course we can always  photograph birds from the warmth of our cars.

If you are a nature photographer, the seasons and everything about them are your top subject.  You are photographing the seasons, even when you don’t realize it.

Whatever your favorite subject or season, don’t let too many of them pass you by with your cameras in the closet.

For those of you who are like me and enjoy photography that is steeped in the working ranches of the American West, Scott T. Baker’s 100 Years, 100 Ranchers is worth viewing. I came across this project along with its artist on a PBS documentary.  The title explains it all.  Scott is an award-winning photographer and most of this project was done with a 4×5 camera and black and white film.  He does shoot in medium format digital as well.  I will always love the art of still photography and it is photographers like Scott that always give us a new project to enjoy.   100 Years, 100 Ranchers

“We who are clay blended by the Master Potter, come from the kiln of Creation in many hues. How can people say one skin is colored, when each has its own coloration? What should it matter that one bowl is dark and the other pale, if each is of good design and serves its purpose well.”

Polingaysi Qoyawayma, Hopi
Ingenuousness Native American