Without a doubt, my favourite conditions for photographing the Arctic Fox are winter blizzard conditions. The flying snow creates a white-out that cleans up any background mess, and the flying snow sticks to the fox’s coat and gives extraordinary context and much-needed drama. These conditions define the environment of the Arctic fox and paint the perfect canvas on which to photograph this amazing opportunist. Contrary to appearances, these conditions are far easier to photograph in than they appear. With modern auto focus in mirrorless equipment, the cameras have no problem finding and tracking the eye of the Arctic Fox in these conditions. In past years, I would often stop down the lens to ensure adequate depth of field if focus missed slightly. Now, with eye-auto focus, I can open up the lens and shoot wide open, as in this case – f4 at 600mm. Why shoot wide open? A wide-open aperture helps soften the surrounding snow’s slope, creating a contained picture inside the 35mm frame. This technique can be used to great effect to help keep the viewers eye both inside the frame and on subject.