1,2,3 FOX
​
​
On the morning of May 13, 2019, my neighbor and friend sent me a message telling me to come to a place where we used to go for a walk, he had just spotted two hares. I arrive a few minutes later and of course there's no trace of the hares. I decide to take a chance and go back that afternoon. I managed to observe them for about ten minutes and photograph them while hiding in a shrub.
These were my first photos of hares, I was delighted and decided to set up a camera at the end of the field.
Two days later, on the 15th, I decided to try another stalk in the same field to see if I could come across another pair of hares. The minutes ticked by but they didn't show up; tired, I decided to see if they'd been on the camera and then head for home. The camera is only a few metres from my hidde, so I get up and take a few seconds to look around.
I turn around and, like a flash of lightning, see a little red ball in the hedge behind me. It takes me a few seconds to realize and identify it. It's a fox cub, and he did me the pleasure of being curious and coming out of the burrow twice to look at what funny thing was in front of him dressed as a bush.
For me, it was love at first sight, and from the moment his eyes met mine, I knew that this was a species I'd become particularly fond of. I couldn't stop thinking about the wonderful coincidence of this meeting and wondering how all these circumstances could have come together. After all, it had been several weeks since I'd had a string of failures with uninhabited burrows. Even if I hadn't come across the foxling at that precise moment, it had been filmed by the cameras, so in any case I would have discovered this burrow and our paths would have crossed.
Ironically, ten days later my friend (again) told me he'd come across another family of foxes on a road we often use. The next day I rushed out to inspect the area and, as expected, came across a magnificent gallery of badgers and traces of foxes. Just enough time to put my camera down, I'm off again, my dreams full. A few days later, without really believing it, I went to pick up the camera and to my great surprise, it had been triggered dozens of times to film fox cubs.
Could it be that fate was working against me so that I'd have to give up studying for my A-levels? Of course, here too, I came to spend long hours on the prowl in their presence, and I hope that 2020 will be just as fruitful in these two burrows.
Over time, I've seen his two litters grow up, met the parents, observed more and more of their behavior, and my love for the fox has grown.
It was on July 7 that the idea came to me to make a short documentary in honor of my fox friend. I didn't think too much about it and told myself I'd have to collaborate with other enthusiasts to make it happen. I get in touch with various photographers, some of whom ignore me, others who respond with pleasure.
Little by little, a team of photographers, each more talented than the last, was formed; all mobilized for the same cause: the protection of nature.
It's thanks to them that I've been able to have fun making this video, and it's thanks to their rushes that my project can see the light of day. I'd like to thank Dimitri Roussel, Charline Palomarès and Baptiste Deturche, Marlène Piraud and Maxime Jusnel, Olivier Bruni, Antoine Corcket, Titouan Roguet, Guillaume Klein, Samuel Horne, Alexandra Leblanc, Franck Vigna, Aurélien Bourges for their blind trust and their participation, and Quentin Ruffie with whom I also had the pleasure of working on the voice-over.
1,2,3 fox is a documentary on the life of the red fox, which I hope will help people discover the fox's habits and encourage them to protect the fox in France. Through images, each more touching and mind-blowing than the last, you'll share 1 year with the fox. Spring is when the cubs are born, summer when they quickly become young adults, autumn when they become emancipated, and winter when the breeding season starts all over again.
