Dutch wildlife photography professional Roeselien Raimond has been bringing joy and warmth to people with her fairytale-like photographs of wild red foxes for over eight years. Looking at her gallery of animal pictures provides a truly captivating and calming experience, as Roeselien brings these gorgeous creatures to life with her exceptional ability to capture their spirit.
Her friendship with these wild animals started out of curiosity and determination to break the popular misconception about foxes being deceitful and mean. With each of her photography series portraying the intelligent, kind, and friendly nature of these mysterious creatures, we feel like we know them a little bit better. The interest in foxes seems to be contagious as by the end of each post featuring Roeselien‘s stunning artwork we want to take one of these cute animals home.
“These are photos of 8 different foxes. Most of them, I followed for years. Each cute fox has its own story and is special to me in its own way. Six of them are not there anymore, and their photos are cherished memories of them." Roeselien told Bored Panda about her exclusive photos of majestic wild foxes captured in the winter landscape. With the help of her craft, she continues to introduce these intricate and unique animals to all of us.
A pop of beautiful and rich red in a slightly monotonic whitewashed winter pallet is all we could want this holiday season.
Image credits: Roeselien Raimond
“I was fascinated by the many legends and fairytales about foxes. I have always wondered how to match this label of a vicious, mean being with the intelligent and friendly appearance they had in my eyes. I was determined to really get to know these mysterious creatures.”
Image credits: Roeselien Raimond
“Foxes are complex animals and even after studying them for years and years, I still don‘t really know what they are up to and what goes on in their beautiful red heads... The more I get to know them, the more they puzzle me, partly because of their creativity and unique personalities. And as long as they keep surprising me, they will keep my attention.”
Image credits: Roeselien Raimond
“Foxes have the curiosity and enthusiasm of dogs, but the headstrongness and unpredictability of cats. To me, they are actually the prefect mix of a dog and a cat; the best of both words.”
Image credits: Roeselien Raimond
Image credits: Roeselien Raimond
“I learned that the stories about foxes being aggressive towards humans are just carefully constructed lies to create a bad image with one goal only: eliminating potential hunting competition.”
Image credits: Roeselien Raimond
“They are so surprisingly... friendly. In a wild animal you would expect characteristics such as mistrust or wakefulness, but I mostly observed an unprejudiced kindness. Even our domesticated cats can become wild tigers when it comes to protecting their litter. I have been around growing up fox kits for many, many hours and never had a vixen shown any sign of aggression. I actually always felt… welcome, almost as if she was proud to show her litter.”
Image credits: Roeselien Raimond
Image credits: Roeselien Raimond
Snow is very rare in The Netherlands, this is why new photos are so difficult to take. “It might snow for a few hours only, so being in the right place at the right time is more important than anything. There’s no chance for a rehearsal. Everything must happen during these few hours. Under this pressure, things can go wrong, for instance, camera quits functioning due to moist or it focuses on a snowflake instead of a fox. But the best part of the job is the joy of seeing a fox just as enthusiastic about this strange white stuff falling from the sky as I am… And of course the fantastic combination of perfect white canvas with a touch of red!”
Image credits: Roeselien Raimond
With unexpected weather come the unexpected incidents you can’t prepare for. “Years ago, it was really cold and within no time I was hypothermic. But going home in these perfect circumstances for a shoot was not an option. So the only solution was to start running like crazy in order to warm myself up. I was glad I was alone because a photographer equipped with a backpack and dressed like a Michelin Man, running on the slippery snow must have been quite a bizarre sight,” – this is one of many cases Roeselien can now remember with a smile.
Image credits: Roeselien Raimond
Image credits: Roeselien Raimond
“To me, foxes are the most beautiful wild animals in the world, both inside and outside. This is what I see and try to capture in a frame. There are still many things about foxes that move me, so there might be many more series to come,” Roeselien told Bored Panda about her future plans.