“Leap of Faith”
Park City, Utah

“Leap of Faith: The Story”

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” — Seneca

For several weeks, I spent my evenings watching a red fox hunt the fields along Old Ranch Road in Park City, Utah. She always kept her distance, disappearing whenever I stopped my truck. From her intense hunting, I suspected she was feeding a den of hungry pups.

One evening, everything came together. The setting sun bathed the field in golden light, illuminating the fox’s fur as she hunted through the alfalfa. Suddenly, she leapt high into the air and plunged headfirst into the grass. When she emerged, she had caught two pot guts.

Knowing she might cross McLeod Creek on her way back to the den, I waded into the icy, knee-deep spring runoff and positioned myself behind a lattice of vines along a barbed-wire fence. Hidden from view, I set my camera for fast action and waited.

Then she came racing toward me.

Just 50 yards away, she slipped beneath the fence and launched herself from the creek bank. For an instant, she was completely airborne—body outstretched, prey in her mouth, water droplets sparkling in the evening light.

I pressed the shutter.

Weeks of observation, preparation, patience—and a fraction of a second of extraordinary opportunity—came together in “Leap of Faith.”