Blacktail Buck

Sunday afternoon I drove down to pick up the newspaper for Lenore. I grabbed my camera and a telephoto lens as I was heading out the door. The weather was beautiful and I thought I might spot some deer along the way. I didn't see a single deer on the way down. On the return tip however I spotted a nice three point Blacktail buck bedded down under some Redwood trees. I pulled over to the edge of the road in three different spots trying to get some different angles of the deer.It's always good to work a subject if you get a chance. In this case I could. The buck was bedded down and comfortable. He was alert but he wasn't so nervous that he was getting up ready to run. I got some pretty nice images of him. Enjoy and have a great week. God's love and blessings to all, chris All three images were created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM V.1 Lens. Photographed hand held from my pick up window. The camera setting used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 shutter speeds varied. #TeamCanon

Blacktail Deer

On WednesdayI went downtown to meet Lenore for lunch. We had a great lunch and on the return trip home I decided to look for some deer to photograph. Blacktail deer are fairly territorial so I knew the most likely places that I could find them. There weren't any at the first two spots but at the third I found four of them. I'm really out of practice at photographing deer! I kept getting the eyes in focus and then I would chop off the tips of their ears in the frame. After a little bit of effort I came away with some decent images that show off their black trademark tail. God's love and blessings to all, chris All images were created with a handheld Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 150-600 mm G2 lens. Fill flash was provided by a Canon 550 EX flash set to -2 stops. AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0, shutter speeds varied. #TeamCanon, #tamron

Unseen Creatures

Much of the wildlife that passes my house goes by unseen. Mostly because they pass by at night when I can't see them or when I'm not looking. Last spring I purchased a cheap trail cam but I hadn't really put it to use until three days ago. Yesterday afternoon I uploaded the thousand plus images it had taken over three days and I was quite pleased to see what it had captured. There were plenty of images of Lenore and I, the dog and the family cat etc. But there were also images of a really nice black bear, gray foxes, turkeys and several deer. The image quality is pretty poor but it was pretty exciting to see what is out there going by unseen at night and during the day. God's blessings upon your weekend, chris

No Bird Day

Last night I created a new set up for the birds in the backyard. This morning after sitting in the photoblind for a long time there were very few birds to be seen. Even the hummingbirds were reluctant to use their feeders. First thing I did was to capture the blasted cat when I saw her and put her into the house. That resulted in the minor improvement of one bird coming to the bird feeder but not to the nice perch I had set up for it. After that nothing. Then the fog rolled in which is usually a good thing. Still no birds. Possibly there is a hawk hanging around up in the trees? I went over to my Mom's house and stacked some wood for her and on the return trip I stopped and photographed a young first year Blacktail Deer in nice light on the forests edge. Then I took a walk down our road photographing the forest and later on a leaf. It's still foggy and there aren't any birds calling. It's a good day to sit by the fire and read a book. God's love and blessings to all of you, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens. #TeamCanon,#CanonBringIt

Touch of Velvet

All the Blacktail bucks in my area have their antlers almost fully grown now and they are covered in velvet. Come late August the velvet will start coming off in anticipation of when they will need their antlers for the fall rut. This morning I was on my way into town to drop off some bags to the Senior Thrift Store when I passed by a bachelor group that was in someones front yard. I stopped as one of the bucks was standing in a great spot right in front of a shaded area with dark house siding behind it. I immediately took advantage of this dark background by taking his portrait. The lighting was fabulous.! What a nice way to start my trip downtown. God's love and blessings to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens at 400 mm. Camera was handheld and the camera settings used were. AV mode, ISO 400, F 5.6 at 1/160th of a sec. #TeamCanon, #canonbringit

Got My Eye on You

This morning I had to drop Jay off at work while my pick up is being repaired. On the return trip I thought I would look for some deer. Once again I found some fawns but they were too quick for me as they bounded off into the forest. I did find one Blacktail doe and she kept her eyes on my the whole timeI photographed her from the car window. She was really curious about what in the world I was doing. I left her to her thoughts. God's love and blessings to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens at 375mm. AV mode, ISO 400, F 7.1 at 1/1250th of a sec.

Oh Deery Me!

My number one son reported to me this week that my pick up wasn't shifting well and that it had stalled out a couple of times at stop signs. So yesterday morning we had to drop it off at Cal's Garage for repairs. On the trip home I thought it would be a great idea to look for some deer as I haven't photographed any for some time now. I found one deer running down the middle of the road. Nope that one didn't work out. Later on I spotted a doe and two fawns. The fawns were so darn cute. But they took off up into the forest as soon as I got close. Around the next turn as luck would have it there was a doe resting on the side of the road. She didn't even hardly blink when I drove by. I went up to the next side road and turned around and drove back and parked across the road from her. I focused the camera on her face and waited for her to turn and look at the camera. After numerous tries I had my image! Just after I pulled away I saw her in my rear view mirror get up and walk into the forest. I guess she was tired of being bugged. God's love and blessings to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600 mm lens at 309mm. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, F 5.6 at 1/100th of a sec.

Love Those Overcast Days

Overcast days are perfect for photography. They allow for photographing without harsh shadows and you can photograph all day long without worrying about any. This morning we arose to a muted sunrise and a layer of clouds that has stayed with us all day. Around noon I drove to my Mom's house to pick somethig up. On the return drive I slowed to a stop next to a group of deer feeding beside the road. I zoomed in on one of their faces for a nice tight portrait. I love that wide eyed look. This image would have been very difficult to make at noon on a sunny day. Blessings upon your day, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm F5-6.3 Di VC USD The sunrise image was braced on the window sill and the deer image was handheld. AV Mode, ISO 800 exposures varied.

Checking the Mail

Lenore was watching our bird feeders this morning when she told me, "Quick come take a look. There is a buck out here." I arrived just in time to see it poking its head around my mailbox set up for the birds and squirrels. I grabbed my camera just in time to photograph it nosing around the door and then sticking its head inside checking for the mail Um I mean the seed. It made for a couple of great images. Now I need to go out and repair the mailbox that has mysteriously been ripped from the post. Sigh, a photographers work is never done! God's love and blessings to all, chris

Tagged

I went out chasing the Blacktail Deer this morning. I went to my favored spot and there were no deer to be seen so I hit some of my other spots. I was really surprised to see a deer with an ear tag. First Blacktail that I have ever photographed with an ear tag. I was even more surprised to read the tag when I got home and uploaded it to the computer. Fish and wildlife is really working to save money. It was a bear tag! Nice work. God's tender love and blessings to all, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens.

In Velvet

This morning I was out the door well before the sun rose broke over the horizon. I was on my way to one of my favorite locations to photograph deer. The first deer I spotted was a confused fawn in the road. It was really curious about what I was up too as I pulled my camera and tripod out of the car and set it up. After creating a few images of it the little one scampered off to join its mother. Later on I found what I was looking for when I spotted a doe up on a hillside by herself. Up above her was a bachelor herd of eight bucks in various stages of velvet. Some had antlers not yet fully formed and a couple were close to final growth. I followed them for about a half an hour until they moved into field of wild oats that was just perfect for photography in the early morning sun. One really nice buck demanded most of my attention. He is going to have a beautiful set of antlers in the fall. What a great way to start the day. Thank you Lord. God's blessings to all, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens. Camera set in AV mode with an ISO of 400 mostly at F 5.6. Shutter speed varied.

Young Buck

This morning I was up and at'em just after five. I wanted to find some deer before they bedded down for the day and they are too hard to find. I checked my favored spots and I found one nervous young buck right beside the road. He was unsure if he should bolt or just keep on feeding. Luckily for me he decided to hold and I was able to photograph him out the car window before he decided to take off. Later on I spotted some twin fawns but they were wise to the ways of the world and they were gone off into the woods in a matter of seconds. A beautiful way to start the morning. God's love and blessings to all, chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D and a EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM at 200mmm. Camera Settings Used- AV Mode, ISO 400,F 5.0 at 1/800th of a sec.

Bright and Shiny

We can plan all that we want and sometimes it just doesn't go the way we expected. When I got up this morning I was going to finish paying the bills and then go down to the creek and do some photography. Naturally the bills took a lot longer than I thought they would. The lighting wasn't all that great by the time I finished. I stopped by the creek along the way. I was really surprised to see several late run salmon and even some Steelhead spawning. I wasn't prepared to photograph them well as the lighting was pretty dim and I would have needed a good flash . I must say that it was just pretty cool to see as I rarely see Steelhead spawning. I went downtown and finished my errands and on the return trip I stopped and photographed a little first year deer. It was so bright and alert and standing there so nicely in its winter coat that I couldn't resist! Such a cute little deer. God's saving grace to all, chris

Bulking Up on Acorns

Right now if you are looking for deer in the area where I live most of the time you will find them eating acorns. This morning that is where I found this little 3x3 and a spike. It was difficult to get an image of them looking up because the majority of the time they had their noses down looking for acorns in the leaves. They eat an amazing amount of acorns in preparation for the upcoming winter. God bless, chris

Plenty of Deer to Go Around

Yesterday morning I went out looking for Blacktail Deer. I found quite a few near to where I live. I discovered one fawn that was starting to explore the world by getting further and further away from its mom. I also found a pretty nice buck, a five by three. Five antler tines on one side and three on the other. He was regally standing in the forest bending down to feed on acorns under the Tan Oak trees. There was also a small two by spike lying off in the forest taking it easy. Lying down and resting seemed to be popular activity for a number of deer I spotted. I photographed one doe in a group of three spending her morning that way. What a great way to start the day spending a few hours searching for deer and photographing them. Thank you Lord for a beautiful day. chris

The Fawns are Losing Their Spots

This morning I went out specifically to photograph some deer. Mainly because I haven't done that in awhile. I found quite a few but the one I liked the most was this curious young Blacktail fawn. When I got home and I was processing the images I noticed a few things about the image I hadn't picked up on when I was creating it. The end of summer is coming up pretty fast. The fawns are losing their spots. The spots are slowly fading to brown and aren't as distinct as they were before. The poison oak is turning red and has white berries. All signs of the ending of summer and moving into fall. That reminds me I still need to finish staining a few spots on my deck. God's love through out the seasons to all, chris

Couple of Images From This Morning

I drove through the Little Lake Valley on a lark this morning. Along the way I stopped and photographed one of my favorite Valley Oaks. You could barely see it through the fog.Climbing back up the mountain on the way home I spotted this first year deer sunning itself in a patch of leaves beside the road. I had my dog Badger with me and the deer was not very keen on that! I left it be and headed on home. God's blessings to all, chris