On a trip to Pittsburg, New Hampshire, in 2020, I discovered a red fox den alongside a stone wall. I knew it was the perfect spot to capture photos of these playful animals, so I set up my blind in a brushy area along a tree line some 200 feet from the den, careful to put the sun at my back. 

After studying the fox family for a few days, I determined that they were most active in the morning, so I arrived at my blind before dawn and set up my gear: a Canon 90D equipped with a Canon 400mm telephoto with a neutral density (ND) filter. I like the ND filter because it allows for greater exposure flexibility. I chose my camera settings ahead of time, and continued taking test shots as the light changed.

As the sun rose, I saw the mother fox crossing a field to deliver food—a raven and a red squirrel—to her pups, which scrambled out of the den to greet her. One pup decided to jump for joy, or perhaps nervous anticipation, when breakfast arrived, and I managed to fire off a burst of shots at just the right moment to capture it mid-leap.

Gear Used

Body: Canon 90D

Lens: Canon 100-400 @ 400MM

Shutter speed: 800

Aperture: F6.3