sunset
Fallow deer
It has been an incredibly busy last few weeks. I feel as though my feet have hardly touched the ground! This has been down to me doing a number of workshops (group and one-to-one), finalising the exhibition (which is now on view) and preparing for 4 days camping in the Brecon Beacons, one day of which will be spent holding a workshop. Today was the opening day of the exhibition and with that led 3 2 hour photography walks. The weather kept at bay for the first 2 but sadly on the 3rd we had to conclude for the last 30 minutes in the centre. It was a very nice indeed. I met some old friends and some very enthusiastic and fun photographers.
In between doing all this I did manage to get to a local deer park to shoot the fallow deer rut. On both days the weather was very inclement but as can be the case, these marginal conditions often provide the most dramatic imagery.
The forecast for the region was for a clear morning and the good old British forecast didn’t disappoint, it wasn’t! Blanket cloud and mist hung low but I gathered my gear and set off anyhow. You just never know. In these conditions I look for silhouettes so headed to the lower parts of the park. 3 does appeared on the horizon just as the sun began to burn through the mist.
Fallow deer does at sunrise.
Fallow deer buck
This individual was scraping the ground, presumably to move the sweet chestnut so as to get a more comfortable bed.
Fallow deer buck
fallow deer buck and crow
At sunset, as the temperature began to drop, the bucks became more active and awoke from their slumber (they conserve as much energy as they can at this time) and began chasing the does and making their presence known by grunting and bellowing. No fights took place but a really moody sky presented itself.
Silhouette
Yesterday evening was my first attempt at photographing rabbits in silhouette. I was quite happy with my images from past sessions where they were lit from the front but this time I wanted to try something a little different.
The trickiest part is finding a location where the rabbits are likely to come out of their burrows and feed on a rise against the setting sun. Fortunately, this particular location, on the marshes, has a very high rabbit population with a number of holes in such a position. But, you can never be certain where they, like any other animal, will turn up and pose in just the right position. It was very much a trial run then as I lay flat on the ground, once again donned head to toe in camo with the camera on a bean-bag.
I could see movement all around and as luck would have it, several did appear in almost the right position. I would have liked more colour in the sky and this is certainly a project I’ll be returning to over the coming weeks and months. As the evening drew on, the mosquitoes became more active and attempted to search for any uncovered skin, which was just my eyelids. Funny, how you find yourself blinking like crazy trying to get them off not daring to swish them away!
They're not dust spots, they're mozzie's buzzing around the warren! My final image taken at 9.40.
Aching but happy
I went back to a favourite spot of mine on the marshes to photograph rabbits. It was a beautiful evening, the wind was blowing in my favour and so, adorned in head to toe camo, around an hour and a half before sunset, I laid down adjacent to some nettles and waited. Within 20 minutes, a rabbit appeared 2m or so away, completely oblivious of my presence, or so I thought. Within seconds, I could feel, through the ground, the thump of it’s hind feet alerting others that ‘something’ was up. It obviously couldn’t be 100% sure that I was human, given that other than my eyes, nothing pale was showing. So, it ambled on and nibbled some grass a little way behind me.
Nikon D300, 300mm f2.8 and 1.4x tele-converter, beanbag.
Eventually, the whole clan came out of their burrows and bounded onto the grass infront of me. I resisted taking pictures for the first 5 minutes, allowing them to become accustomed to my presence. I started taking pictures and then, from the corner of my right eye, there was a hare! It had snuck up beside me and was now less than a metre away! I have watched and photographed hares more times than I can remember but never appreciated just how big they are. It too, took no notice of me and moved beyond me.
I couldn't believe my luck when both sat upright next to each other.
The next hour or so was spent shooting various images and was jolly fortunate that more often than not, they would pick the area bathed in sunlight, or maybe they just enjoyed the warmth of the setting sun.
Catkins
I didn’t expect much during a late afternoon stroll through local woodland. I had left it quite late but just needed to get away from the computer and stretch my legs. I came across a low, drooping hazel branch full of catkins and looked at possible images. They seem to appear earlier and earlier as each year passes. In the past I had photographed them against a blue sky and shedding their pollen using flash and with the sun rapidly setting I looked at a possible silhouette. I reached for the 105mm micro and hand-held, moved around the catkins until I was satisfied with the composition. The D2x was them mounted onto a tripod and the scene composed. Focus was critical since I needed to use a very wide aperture of f2.8 or f4 in order to achieve the effect I was after. This in turn resulted in a relatively fast shutter speed of 1/100th sec at iso 100 which helped as there was a slight breeze.
I always enjoy the feeling of coming home with something, even just a single image, that I know is a little different from the norm on days when I don’t expecting anything at all.
About Robert Canis
Robert Canis is a professional photographer specialising in the natural world.
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