A red fox stands in snow against a white background, looking back over its shoulder with alert eyes. Its fur contrasts sharply with the minimal, bright surroundings.Roeselien Raimond uses snow to isolate the fox’s character.

A photographer has captured a series of exquisite images of foxes in snow to highlight each of their personalities and to show they don’t deserve their “sly” and “cunning” labels.

Roeselien Raimond from the Netherlands tells PetaPixel that by isolating them on snow in wintry surroundings, she is showing their individuality by eliminating all other noise.

“Animals are often anonymized, making it easier for us to see them as ‘just a fox,’” Raimond explains. “The moment you start seeing an animal as an individual and recognize it as a being with personality and associated traits and emotions, you’ll also treat it with more respect. That’s something I want to emphasize with this ‘Fox Hall of Fame’.”

A collage of multiple red foxes in various poses and positions, scattered across a white background. Some are sitting, standing, playing, lying down, or grooming themselves.Raimond’s Fox Hall of Fame.

A red fox stands on snow against a white background, looking to the left. Its bushy tail and reddish fur contrast sharply with the bright surroundings.

A red fox stands on snow, facing right, against a stark white background. The fox’s fur is thick and its tail is bushy. The overall scene is minimalistic and serene.

A red fox with orange fur stands in the snow, its face and ears dusted with snowflakes, looking alertly to the side against a bright white background.

Raimond has been photographing foxes for 10 years, previously appearing on PetaPixel for her 64 foxy faces project. However, snow appears rarely in the Netherlands so she has had to take her opportunities in the last 15 years.

“I typically expose to the right (ETTR), which makes my entire photo slightly brighter,” Raimond says of her technique for photographing in the snow. “Then I adjust the contrasts, lights, darks, and shadows to make the snow a bit whiter and expose the fox perfectly. And in some cases, I had to remove some disturbing spots from the snow.”

A red fox is captured mid-pounce with its nose close to the snowy ground, legs bent and tail raised. Snow dusts its fur and the background is pure white, emphasizing the fox's motion.

A red fox sits facing forward in a snowy, white landscape, its fur and features standing out sharply against the bright, minimal background.

A red fox sits on snow, looking to the right. Its bushy tail curls around its body, and its fur contrasts against the bright white background.

A red fox stands alert in a snowy landscape, its orange fur contrasting with the white background. The fox is looking forward, and some snow-covered grass is visible in the foreground.

Two red foxes interact playfully in the snow; one sits while the other lies on its back, touching noses affectionately. Both have snow on their fur and are surrounded by a white, snowy background.

Certainly Raimond’s photos leap off the screen, but it’s not just about capturing wonderful frames; the photographer is keen to change perceptions about foxes which have been characterized as “tricksters” throughout history via folklore, children’s tales, and in literature.

“Foxes are opportunistic and, given the chance, will not hesitate to ‘steal’ some chickens,” Raimond says of the vixens and tods. “This, of course, does not make them popular. What also doesn’t help is that they are interested in the same prey as human hunters, such as rabbits, hares, and pheasants. So they are, in effect, competitors.”

Fox hunts have of course been a thing for centuries. “To this day, hunters still call for foxes to be ‘regulated or managed’,” adds Raimond. “Because their populations are getting too large, under the guise of protecting other animals. While it’s now been proven that foxes can perfectly regulate their own numbers based on territory size and food availability.”

Raimond adds that foxes are a “vital link in the ecosystem” and culling them creates more problems. “After years of studying foxes, I can say that foxes are far from mean or nasty. They are intelligent, curious, and enterprising, and above all, they are the friendliest and most sociable wild animals I know.”

A red fox sits on snow against a white background, yawning widely with its eyes partly closed and mouth open, revealing its teeth and tongue.

A close-up side profile of a red fox against a white background, showing its face, ear, and reddish-brown fur with detailed texture.

A red fox with a bushy tail stands alert on snow, its fur contrasting sharply against the white background. The fox looks sideways, highlighting its keen eyes and pointed ears.

A red fox stands on snow, looking intently forward with its nose close to the ground and a small patch of snow on its snout, against a white background.

Raimond says she hopes her photos and the stories she writes about them influence people’s opinions of foxes. “Because if you look closely, you’ll immediately see that this wonderful, intelligent animal that deserves a better story,” she adds.

You can find more of Raimond’s work on her website, Facebook, and Instagram