Shadow Walker

Urban Wildlife category of Wildlife Photographer of the Year and the overall winner of the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

Capturing just the shadow of a fox in his back garden, this image conveys the story of how, as darkness falls and we go to sleep, the wildlife that shares our urban surroundings come to life. It is a camera trap image that was 6 months in the making, with many failed attempts in that time. The sky had to be clear of cloud, there could be little-to-no moon in order to allow the stars to be visible during the 30 second exposure and, of course, the fox had to pass the camera at just the right speed and distance, and in the correct pose, for the shadow to be captured perfectly.