fALLOW DEER

[John Robinson]

This is a wil fallow Deer buck in the Wyre Forest.


This young buck looks like he,s in mid roar.
But he's not !
He's trying to demolish a crab apple !! Bit later he was frothing at the mouth so they must be a bit tart ! Funny how the males are oblivious to the hide and camera noise but the does- different story.
Tried the camera in quiet mode too Seems to work. The main rutting stan with the large buck was several hundred yards to the left. This one is just sniffing around the edge
Had to wait several hours in a cramped hide for this.
#D7000
Nikor 70-300mm
800 ISO
125th @f5>6
Slight crop Usual post processing
Cheers
JR</SPAN>

[Morkel Erasmus]

It's nice to see this species so relaxed Johnny. I like the pose/behaviour here.
A couple of thoughts:
1. Was it possible to shoot from a lower POV? Given that you were in a hide/blind, could you set it lower or even crouch down and still get a shot? It just feels very "top down" for me, as if you were in a large game viewing vehicle.
2. With the busy surroundings also competing for "sharpness-attention", I would try and selectively sharpen the deer only when downsizing for web posting, as the foliage appears a bit "crunchy" for me.
3. I'm seeing some magenta creeping in on the deer's skin - easy to fix with selective desaturation or colour balance adjustments. I know you use PSP so not sure which function would be equivalent there.

I hope I'm making sense?
Thanks for sharing! I hope you got more images than just one for all your time crouched in the hide :w3

[John Robinson]

Hi Morkel
I have played around with it quite a lot. The background as you say is very crunchy. partly because there is a big DOF using the 300mm, and the setting is not predictable.They roam allover the place. I did start to soften the background bur gave up in the end. (Tea was ready !! )
Ican't lower the hide as it is a deer seat. Too low to the ground with the wind in the wrong direction and forget it.There is a lot of trouble with people and dogs etc so they are pretty wary. Much easier in a deer psark don't you think!!
Thanks for your interest. I,ll get around to your suggestions.
Chers
John

[Jonathan Ashton]

I like the shot when you sharpen did you sharpen the deer and the background or perhaps the deer and the background to a lesser extent? I know we get what we are given but if only you had been able to get the shot a couple of yards to the right! Nevertheless very nice to see the deer in woodland as opposed to grassy parkland.

[John Robinson]

Thanks both
Jon
As you realise there isn't a lot of choice in animal position in cases in the wild like this. I just wish he'd kept away from the twigs. I did try some background blurring but didn't want to overdo it. Maybe next year.
Cheers
John

[BillTyler]

This photo appears a little cluttered because of the dry twigs just in front of the deer's chest. The deer itself is a lovely animal, nicely photographed.