July 6, 2023
Many of you know my fascination with “trying” to be a nature photographer. I say it in quotes because I am fortunate enough to have taken up this hobby in a time when we are allowed to take as many pictures as we want and then delete the bad ones and only show the good. I will tell you however, that I have always loved photographs, for history purposes, for memory purposes and for beauty purposes. I did take a course in photography in high school (back when photography was analog) but, I wish I would have done it in 12th grade not 9th. Having said that, I am not a photographer in the sense of being a professional. Now to the main story……
Because of my outward love for nature, my friends and family are always excited to share with me any interesting occurrence they have with an animal, and any other fun or random nature experience they had. One day about a week or so before the date of this post, one of my longtime friends told me about an amazing animal experience he had while golfing at a local golf course. He took his cell phone out to show me pictures of a fox that was on the course. He said there was a whole family of foxes living on the course and that they seemed comfortable with the players being there. The first thing I thought about was how could I get my long lens out there to get some closeups? Foxes have always been a favorite of mine and I would be in heaven if they could be my subject! They have so many traits, that they really do have personality.
A couple of days later another longtime friend of mine got giddy – he said something to the effect of – oh, I forgot to tell you, I was golfing yesterday – and no more did he pull out his cell phone and I guessed where he was golfing and what he was going to show me he had pictures of. It was just incredible, I decided I had to see if I could try my first photo field trip. I did have a little trouble talking myself into it because of the whole uncomfortable nature of entering a (relatively unfamiliar) business and asking people (who don’t know me) if I can ask permission for something they do not normally provide to their patrons. This always slows me down!
About a week after I learned of the second person (and later a third) who had seen the foxes I was driving near to the golf course, and I thought to myself – I have tomorrow off and it is supposed to be a nice day. OK – I have to do it and I have to do it right, let’s go ask permission for a photo shoot. Boom! Permission granted for the next morning, July 6.
I arrived at 7 a.m., I paid for a golf cart and strapped my tripod and camera gear in and drove to the approximate siting area. I had only been to this golf course one other time so; I was unsure as to where I should be. After a quick call to friend #2, I was still a bit nervous that I was not in the correct location, but about 10 minutes later a groundskeeper stopped over to see if I had seen any of the foxes yet. As he was telling me where to look or stand one appeared within seconds. I got to work snapping shots without my tripod set up, I was sure none of the shots would turn out as that lens is heavy after a minute of holding it steady. My movements would be shown in each one – even breathing can cause blurring. Lucky for me, these guys were all over the place, I ended up taking shots until 10 a.m. I would look to the left after concentrating in one spot and there would be a fox drinking from the pond. I would look to the right and a couple would appear out of nowhere playing in the field. They loved hunting bugs in the grass, thrusting their noses into the greenery to catch a snack. Several times they came 10 feet from me and my camera contraptions as if to say take my picture if you can before I trot by into the vegetation. It was the fastest three hours I have had in forever. It was one of the most peaceful and rewarding experiences I have had in my lifetime.
I ended up taking 170 some pics and got 37 to turn out to be pretty great shots that I will look back on for years to come. I have a few on here to share with you, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
“A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.” John Assaraf
