This photo of a fox cub was taken in our garden in Edinburgh.
I used a combination of flashguns, a DSLR and infrared triggers to capture it.
This approach was challenging because it involved using natural and artificial light and positioning and pre-focusing the camera in advance of the animal’s arrival.
I also had a particular aesthetic in mind, so I staged the location and ensured that there was enough flash to light the fox but not the background. I also wanted the subject to look towards the camera and I knew that the chances of everything coming together were very slim.
The summer nights were busy with wildlife and initially the cub would always arrive with her mother, but as the summer advanced the cub began to visit alone. I’d not managed to photograph the older fox who was very nervous and camera shy, but her female cub was incredibly bold. The youngster was, however, always on the move and the subsequent results were unpredictable and often of poor quality – every morning I’d review the photos from the night before and be disappointed.
But then, after weeks of trying I saw this photo and knew that finally, everything had come together.
The animal’s bold gaze and lip-lick suggest that she is a willing participant in the image. The lighting, focus and pose led friends to ask if the photo is AI generated, a composite or if the animal is stuffed (!) – but in reality the photo you see here is, apart from cropping and a little retouching, the same as the one I took that night. The image looks unreal, but that quality isn’t the result of fakery, it’s a combination of intention, the fox's cooperation and a lot of luck.
- the artist