Photographer Sets Up His DIY Camera Trap In The Forest And Captures Stunning Images Of A Fox

A photographer named Ross Harried recently went viral as he captured spectacular shots of a fox with his custom-made camera trap. In an interview with DeMilked, the photographer said, "I've been doing photography for over a decade and first picked up a camera back in 2003 or so. I decided to create this DIY camera trap after I had stumbled upon some other guys' setup and wanting to re-purpose some old cheap cameras and lenses that I would not be able to sell - I figured I would get more use making a DIY DSLR camera trap then sell/trade them."

Ross further elaborated, "When it comes to photography I literally treat it as a personal treasure hunt. As I've gotten older, I've completely shifted to this childlike mindset of, let's go on a treasure hunt and collect photos for myself. I share those finds/photos on my social media and if people like it great, but I'm fulfilled before I even post, because I have already 'won' by collecting that next photo for myself."

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The photographer managed to capture stunning shots of this curious fox with his camera trap

Image Source: Second Crop Creative Image Source: Second Crop Creative

He created this custom-built camera trap by using old cheap cameras and lenses

Image Source: Second Crop Creative Describing his DIY camera, the photographer revealed, "As for this particular shot I custom built a DSLR camera trap last year and have deployed it only a handful of times - it takes a lot of time to scout/track my subjects. The build consists on an old Canon T3i with an 18-55 kit lens I picked up secondhand for $50. The flashes are 2x Nikon SB-24 I picked up off eBay for $20-30. Then the brains of this operation, or rather how it all runs smoothly, is the sensor and trigger/receivers. I am using all Camtraptions gear (not sponsored). It works amazingly and flawlessly so far. I have everything housed in custom built weatherproof cases from pelican cases and cheaper knock off brands for the flashes. Everything runs off of rechargeable AA batteries and in normal temperatures it can be left in the wild for up to a month at a time (so long as squirrels aren't killing the flash by triggering it like crazy). The setup only lasts at most 5 days in the winter when the temps dip below freezing in Wisconsin."

Earlier while exploring the woods, Ross scouted 5 foxes in the area and took some telephoto shots of them

Image Source: Second Crop Creative The photographer further explained, "So going back to how I got this fox shot. I had been tipped off to foxes in the area. I scouted 5 foxes in the area, and grabbed some telephoto shots of them (on my Instagram) two days before I set up the trap. I then scouted a composition in the wooded area there - we had the littlest bit of snow left where I could see their tracks/a path they made between these two rocks. So I set up my system there. Key light, sensors, camera in front and one back light to create separation. I had both flashes set to 1/4 power and the camera was set to 1/160 f8 auto iso capped out at iso 800. I always manual focus, although admittedly focus is slightly off in this series." Image Source: Second Crop Creative

Then he deployed his DIY camera to capture better and clear images

Image Source: Second Crop Creative

Luckily, this fox walked right into the trap and posed for the camera

Image Source: Second Crop Creative "Based on the timestamps of the photos this curious fox showed up almost an hour after it was originally deployed....insanely lucky as I had no idea it would pose like that and also be so curious!" said Ross. Image Source: Second Crop Creative Image Source: Second Crop Creative