Summertime Deer, it's almost here!

KeyWestPhotog

Summertime is almost upon us and for several of us that means we are either already booked up, or we are looking for something to do! Summertime last year meant I was looking for something to do that would get me back out of the standard rut I was in with workflow and my style of shooting. I took some advice from that movie "Pure Country" and went back to my roots, and what I loved.......Wildlife Photography. Summertime is a great oppertunity to catch deer in velvet, and gives you a preview of what the winters harvest can provide. The Bucks tend to let their guard down a little and rely on the Does to be the cautious and alert ones so that the Bucks may constantly browse in search of the protein so those antlers can grow, grow, grow, grow! If it is something you have never done before try it, you never know you might find a new spark of creativity that could launch your next "style of photography" or great marketing idea! Time outdoors with nature always seems to help me respark my creativity!


For this shoot I wanted to get outdoors and see some of this years Deer herd that had been moving around the area. This was a great oppertunity for me to break out the <a href="http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/products/professional_cameras/ef_lens_lineup/lens_telezoom_pro/ef_75_300mm_f_4_5_6_iii">Canon EF 75-300 f/4/5.6 III</a> lens, and play around with the <a href="http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/products/professional_cameras/ef_lens_lineup/lens_standmed_pro/ef_85mm_f_1_8_usm">Canon EF85mm f/1.8 USM</a> as well.

I brought fellow Photog Bill Whitlow along with me as it's always great to be outdoors with someone to laugh at my cheap humor.

We started off the walk with me loading the 50mm on the Canon XSi body as I wanted to try to get some shots of turtles just under the surface of the water. I had on my handy dandy circular polarizer hoping to cut down some glare on the water, and off we went. I didn't get crap for images, but after walking out on a bridge which went across the lake, I was able to set my body on the rail, and make an attempt at this make shift panorama.
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I was done playing, and was ready to go find the Deer! The real reason we came. It was time to see which ones had been eating the good stuff. I slapped the 85mm and went for a walk. It took us about 15 minutes of cutting through various trails before we found them. I walked slowly up on a group of about 8 of them. They busted me, and scattered but this brave little fella wanted to be placed on the cover of a magazine!
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I spent well over half an hour playing with shots attempting different focal points and just learning what the 85mm could and couldn't do. I really wanted to get in close, to see if I could get me an eyeball shot with my reflection in the eyeball. The deer were to skiddish, or just plain didn't like how bad I smelled! After I was done playing with the 85mm from a distance, it was time to get the Telephoto Zoom out and let the 75-300 get some work. Now this is a very cheap lens for what it can do. I strongly recommend leaving the AF off on this lens, and working the focus manually!


As I was able to slowly push the deer out of the dense woods, and into a shaded clearing, it gave me a great oppertunity to try some spot metering, and adjust accordingly.
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I worked with the deer in the shade a little bit so I could get some shots with them in the green grass with that sun being blocked.
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I ended up naming this deer "Coconuts" for obvious reasons.
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I don't know why, but I always end up falling into atleast 1 B&W shot per shoot!
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After having them in the shade, I began to put on a push as I wanted to get them out in the sun, and pull some of those great Oranges and Browns out of them.
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It took me awhile, and some carefull planning, but finally I got the girls to come out and show off.
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I had a wonderful time, and came out with a few decent images. Nothing is like being in nature, and surrounded by free roaming animals and being able to capture them in pixels!

Harryb

Very nice set. We could enjoy them more if you posted large or XL sample of your images a sopposed to the small you opted for.

raptorcaptor

Harryb wrote: »

Very nice set. We could enjoy them more if you posted large or XL sample of your images a sopposed to the small you opted for.

Particularly like the shot of the lone deer resting.

KeyWestPhotog

Thanks guys, I leave it small for the folks who surf via cell phones, or at work computers with slow bandwidth. With ALL of my images I make them "clickable" to where you can click on them to see a much LARGER image if you choose to do so!