Project fox photography: my experiences as a newbie wildlife photographer
Foxes have been my favorite animals for a very long time, and it’s always been my dream to photograph them. And I have in fact captured a fox a few times throughout the years, but the opportunities have always been few and the results never any good. To be honest, I’d mostly given up on the idea and instead focused on other photography endavours.
However, after a few random encounters with foxes in the early spring of 2026 in a nearby nature reserve, the idea of photographing them crept back into my head. After yet another spontanous meeting with a fox while only carrying a 35mm lens and not being able to capture it, I decided on the spot to kick-off a fox photography project. It’s been almost 3 months since then and I figured it would be nice to share some of the journey so far, as well as some of the results I was able to capture!
‘Intense eyes’, sibling of ‘dreamy eyes’ (explained later in the text).
Finding foxes
First things first. Finding foxes. Because as I quickly learned, a few spontaneous encounters don’t quite mean subject and location are accounted for. In fact, I found that as soon as I started showing up planned and prepared, my luck suddenly seemed over. I had bought myself a proper telephoto lens, watched 2 dozen videos on how to use it, researched the best times to spot foxes and how to go about it, but then for weeks on end, spending countless hours over many early mornings and late evenings around the location where I had spotted foxes before: nothing. Absolutely zero, not a single fox sighting. What the actual f***?!
I’ll admit, I was taken aback a bit at that point. For several weeks, I’d spent all of the time I could spare out in nature right where I’d spotted foxes several times before, with nothing to show for it. Not ready to give up though, I decided I need a better approach and a change of plans. Rather than staying put in that same location with now no sighting in weeks, I started broadening my search area. I walked and cycled along the coast here in The Hague, through different nature reserves like Solleveld, Westduinpark, Meijendel and so on, hoping my stubbornness would be rewarded at some point.
And well, what do you know! Close to a month into my search, and perhaps closer to when fox cubs usually leave their den to start exploring the world and thus upping my chances, late May I ran into not one, but 2 fox cubs while on a bicycle trip through the dunes!
Two fox cubs before what seems to be a fox den, my first actual sighting since starting this project
Needless to say I was over the moon running into these foxes that night (by the way: I aim to not share the exact location of foxes as much as possible for obvious reasons). The two cubs were quite far away, but with my 200-600mm lens and some cropping, I got a few ok captures. But most importantly, I had find fox cubs! And seeing as they were hanging out in front of what looked like a fox den, this could be a spot were I would be able to come back to!
Well, in a somewhat surprising (at least to me at the time) but perhaps by now not fully unexpected turn of events, I haven’t spotted these cubs in this exact location again. After that initial sighting, I went back several times, first around the same time in the evening and later at different times too, but for whatever reason, it seemed this wasn’t gonna be their daily hangout spot.
However, now feeling quite hopeful about this area, I kept my focus there and a few days later ran into these two, maybe 500 meters from that initial location:
Getting familiar
Realizing I might just have found an actual area where I could spot foxes on a frequent basis, I decided to stick with it and try to figure out where exactly in that area my best chances of running into the foxes would be, at what time of day, etc.
I quickly learned that evenings were best, specifically so the last hour before sunset. The foxes, at least 3 cubs and a mother, tended to make their way out of the dune forest by then and move towards, sometimes even onto, the beach around sunset.
One particular night, after having observed the foxes in the dunes for a bit, I had moved onto the nearby beach to fly my drone and capture a few landscape shots along the coast. Suddenly, I noticed movement below and realized a fox had walked onto the beach just as I was flying over! Although far away, it got me some of my favorite and most unusual fox photos so far:
Slowly getting a better understanding of when to be where, my next challenge seemed to be getting a bit more familiar with the foxes themselves. I was hoping to get close enough to get some actual fox portraits, which I so far hadn’t managed to do. Even with a proper telephoto lens, it was challenging to come close enough for portraits without scaring the foxes away immediately.
Portraits aside, what I also hoped for was capturing natural fox behaviour, rather than an frozen animal staring at me as it was trying to figure out if I was a threat. Or already having decided I am, I guess. As you may have read between the lines, I’m not exactly an expert in wildlife behaviour, so I had to try and figure out an approach as I was going.
Probably the biggest leap forward here was when I managed to just quietly sit down where I knew the foxes would often be, and wait for them to come closer once they showed up. No staring into their direction, just sitting there, seemingly minding my own business. I guess it sounds like a no-brainer, but it took me a little while to get past the “OMG OMG THERE IS MY FAVORITE ANIMAL OF ALL TIMES!! LOOK AT IT! IT IS AMAZING! I MUST CAPTURE IT BEFORE IT’S GONE!!” emotions and let common sense lead the way.
Once I did though, the foxes started to be more at ease and rather than me getting closer, it was them getting closer to me instead.
On a few occasions, one of the cubs came so close to me it was hard to frame it and get it in focus with my 200-600mm lens. Of the initial three cubs I had seen, most of the time it was only two of them at the spot I frequented. While one of those two was usually the first to show itself and pass by me, the other one often waited a bit longer to come out of the bushes, but when it did, it often stayed nearby for quite some time. Both seemingly unbothered by my presence as curious about the bearded human with the long camera lens sitting there every few nights.
That curious cub, with its particular, almost somewhat ‘dreamy’ eyes (I’m not sure if it has some kind eye defect, an infection or if it’s just a normal variation) quickly became my favorite. Not the boldest per se, but certainly the curious and observant one. A kindred spirit.
Dreamy eyes’ sibling, the one usually first to show itself and just walk by mostly uninterested and just going about its own business, has very intense eyes. Especially when the light hits its pupils, like on these golden hour captures just before sunset. I didn’t get too many chances to properly portray it as it usually didn’t stay around quite long enough, but this young fox could have a very successful modelling career if you ask me.
They see me roaming…
Moving into July, a month and a half into the project, it seemed the young foxes started getting less predictable in their whereabouts. From at least spotting them either nearby or from afar pretty much every visit (usually a few times a week), I saw much less of them than throughout the previous month. The area became busier as well with more tourists visiting and hot summer days that kept people at the beach until late. I had already noticed the foxes only really went close to the beach and onto it after people (and dogs) had left.
But I also found the foxes roaming around a bit further from their usual evening hangout, more seperated from each other as well. I might be projecting here, but as a father of an almost 12 year old, it seemed to me these youngster were starting to broaden their horizons and roam a bit further from home.
Roaming along the beach
A fan of environmental portraits, I was really pleased being able to capture this fox on a dune right next to the beach. I’m not sure if this is one of the youngsters from the family I was following as it was maybe a kilometer away from our usual meeting point and quite a bit earlier than I’d normally spot them.
Much like the foxes, my attention went elsewhere a bit as well throughout July and early August. I wrapped up work before the summer holidays and then went on a family vacation the Eifel region in Germany (quite photogenic as well). I still managed to get out into the dunes a few nights to see if I could catch up with the youngsters. And I did, not always spotting them and when I did often just briefly as they seemed to be on their way much more so than throughout June.
Going forward
Right now, it feels like the first chapter of this project is done. I looked for foxes, found them and made a whole bunch of photographs. Going forward, I’m not sure how this project will evolve. It seems the foxes are getting ready to hive off, and our frequent meetings near their den might come to an end. Then again, perhaps at least one will stick around? I know males are likely to roam further, in search of their own territory, while females often stay closer to home. I have no idea if the cubs I’ve observed over the past months are male or female. I’ve also never been able to follow foxes over a longer period of time, so I’m not sure what to expect.
The siblings, Intense eyes & Dreamy eyes, late june 2026.
What I do know is that this project has sparked a curiosity that’s far from exhausted. I want to find out what the foxes are up to in the coming months, how they’re evolving as they grow older, if they will leave the area and so on. Furthermore, I feel there’s still loads to improve in my fox photography and I hope to be able to work on that. Once I have, I’ll make sure to report back.
