PREPARED FOR THE MOMENT

Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

The digital age of photography allows us to shoot endless numbers of pictures without making a dent in our wallets. All what it takes is to hit the delete button if something doesn’t work out. Sometimes, and hopefully more often than not, it only takes a few clicks to make the image you have in mind or envisioned, even in wildlife photography. Knowing the biology of a critter, its habits, and natural time schedule will help you to make the click. Being for a few days in the same area, studying the light, and watching every movement in the woods and in the grassland, can lead to the desired shot. 

The photo of this deer was made between two locations where we wanted to shoot landscapes. Attaching the long lens to the camera ahead of time was essential to make the shot just beside the road.

Best task

The avid reader of my blog may remember my photos and little stories about “Struppi’, a deer fawn that made herself home in the woods around our house for a while. Well, we have not seen her since we had the last snow storm, about ten days ago. This photo was made at high noon on February 23, 2015 from my office window.

I think there is nothing wrong by having an emotional attachment to a particular critter, especially if it has been the “star” of a photo shoot or, like in this case, the subject of a photo story for several days. We have White-tailed-Deer in our yard every day, and of course, we look out for “Struppi” any time we see a deer. The little guy, that probably lost its mother earlier by a car accident, has not been here since I made this photo. Everything is just speculation, but we have coyotes around here (we can hear them howl more then we ever see them), the presence of a Red Fox, or the uncontrolled roaming of some neighbor’s dogs, it all could be a reason for not seeing “Struppi” anymore.

The photo may not mean anything for anybody else, but for us it is a fond memory, frozen in a few pictures during the winter of 2014/15. Photography at its best task…

LESSON LEARNED

The load of snow we got over the weekend was topped today again with another inch and the temperature dropped quite a bit below freezing. It is the time of the season when life gets really hard for the critters out there. The White-tailed Deer overcome their fear and come out of the woods, very close to the house, and try to find leftovers at the bird feeders or just eat dried up flowers in the garden.

I learned my lesson yesterday when I missed to open the window before a group of deer arrived. I made a few clicks through the glass but the results were not flattering. Remember, this happens usually between 4.00 and 5.00 PM when the light is already fading away and it is hard to make a photo of a moving critter. The little noise from sliding the window down while the deer are present usually scares them away. 

All images:  Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head, Nikon SB800 speed light

Today I saw a doe with its fawn approaching and opened the window quickly before they came close to the house. I used a fill flash for some color boost but that did not bother them much. The doe was eating out of the bird feeder while the fawn munched on some dry flowers. 

What do I like about these images? I made of course a few more clicks, some pictures with even better sharpness, but it is again the story telling gesture in both photos that made me choose these two for the blog post. The fawn looks back for its mother, knowing that she still means protection. The knee-deep snow and the snow crystals in the fur tell the story about survival in very harsh winter conditions. Last, but more and more important for my wildlife photography, the composition was made 100% in the viewfinder and no crop in post process was required… I hope you enjoy!