Whitetail Deer - 9 point Buck

[Daniel Cadieux]

It is rut season, and I found this big boy chasing the ladies last weekend. This guy's eyes are way paler than the others'...really penetrating when looking directly at you. The area I took this at is well known locally for its large wild population of mostly human-tolerant deer. The males tend to keep their distance more than the females and young, but with persistence and patience opportunities do present themselves.

Canon 40D + 100-400L @350mm, aperture priority, evalulative metering, 1/100s., f/6.3, ISO 800, no EC, natural light, handheld (braced against a tree), FF - I wish I hadn't clipped the bottom the chest, but the good news is that the bottom crops nicely as an 8 x 10 ratio.

[Katie Rupp]

Daniel, you've captured such a nice rich color in him and the bg; the fine detail in the fur enhances the texture so that I almost want reach out and feel it. And that eye is captivating, indeed. The tree in the center bg is slightly distracting to me.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hey Daniel, a wonderful buck portrait. I love it. I can't get anywhere near this close to them around here. I guess because they are hunted they spook very easily.

[Stu Bowie]

Excellent sharp detail Dan, and I like the angled head. Those antlers certainly are impressive. Lovely large eyes with a good reflection. I would maybe run another round of NR on the BG.

[Morkel Erasmus]

penetrating eyes indeed. I like the soft light and details here Daniel - would do some more slight NR on the BG and maybe do crop some off the bottom so it doesn't look as "chopped off" :)

[Hilary Hann]

Magnificent creature. Love the colours and the attentive gaze. Those eyes certainly stand out. Agree with Katie re the background trunk … but only a minor distraction and only because the background is so beautifully toned.

[Harshad Barve]

Super animal and super shot
TFS

[Robert Amoruso]

Well done Daniel. Good DOF at your chosen aperture just right for this guy.

[Don Thompson]

Very nice Daniel. The clipped chest doesn't bother me and neither does the tree. Tough to get good clear shots of these guys without some "environment". Well done.

[Rachel Hollander]

Daniel - agree that this is very nice pose with good detail. I would also follow Morkel's suggestion to crop a little off the bottom so that there's no space below the chest.

TFS,
Rachel

[Marc Mol]

Love the colour and sharpness/detail here Daniel, the crop also works well. :cheers:
TFS

[John Ippolito]

Rich colors and coat textures captured. excellent detail and pose. Mentioned slight crop from bottom would work well.

[A_Maddah]

Hi Daniel
Realy nice.One of the best portrait.I like color harmony and looking.TFS

Asad