Mule deer

[Kerry Perkins]

It ain't just birds! Posting this as a reminder that Eager To Learn is not just for birds. You may post any images in the category of "general nature images", including landscape, wildlife, macro, etc. I would love to see more diversity in the posts here and just wondering if folks knew that it wasn't just for birds...

I captured these young does at Bosque on my last trip in November. I used a blur vignette to help keep the eye focused on the subjects and not the distracting foliage in the foreground. I especially love the little one on the right. Handheld from my car just before sunset.

1D4, EF400mm f/5.6L
Manual mode, f/5.6@1/800 ISO 800 WB 5100K
AI Servo autofocus, hand-held no flash

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Kerry,

Thanks and we continue to ask for a variety of pictures and subjects. I am starting street photography next month again so jump in!

This is a good shot and there is one thing about it i especially like, the frame balance. Specifically, there is a foreground (not distracting and gently OOF) a set of subjects and a background (not distracting and gently OOF). When I talk about harmony and balance this is what I mean,..well done. Was this center sensor on the middle guy - nice focal plane they were standing just right!!!

When did you get the D4, what do you think?

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Jeff, thanks for the kind words! I rarely use anything other than the center sensor as I like to know exactly where my plane of focus is going to be and that's what I was using for this shot. I sometimes use the other focus modes but mostly when I am working with people.

I got the 1D4 over a year ago, my Christmas present to myself at the end of 2011. I love the body, it is built like a tank and the RAW files contain an amazing amount of data. Doug Brown once posted an image of a snowy owl that he had captured after jumping out of his car and forgetting to set the shutter speed on his 1D4 correctly. The original image was grossly underexposed, but Doug was able to push the original capture by three full stops in LR4 and the resulting image looked great! That is truly amazing, but I have found that this body is capable of saving my bacon when I make a mistake. I love the images I get from it. My next plunge will be on a 500mm lens, but that's a bit tougher on the wallet!

[Alison McCoy]

What a beautiful reminder that more may be posted here than birds! Thanks for posting this Kerry. Love the soft warm tones framing the lovely trio.

[Travis Reid]

Nice focus and exposure, well done..

[Faraaz Abdool]

Beautiful shot Kerry - and thanks for answering the question I had but never asked "Is ETL only about birds?" :-)

Good call on blurring the vegetation in front - it really does send your eye straight to the subjects. I love how the two does on the left hand side are looking one way and the little one is facing exactly opposite. Fantastic image design, and I'm amazed how you got all of them in focus at 5.6!