Gifts That Go By

Every time I check the images from my cheap trail cam it's like opening a present. I never know what I'm going to find. I have an idea of what I might get but I'm always surprised. So far we have captured, Blacktail Deer, squirrels, Opossums, Raccoons,Black Bears, Bobcats,Wild Turkeys, Jack Rabbits,skunks and Gray Fox. Right now I have it covering our road. I move it to variety of spots on a regular basis. Here are some images from the past few day. I like the Gray Fox the best. It's on alert for something down the road. There is some eye shine up ahead of it on the side of the road. You can barely pick up in the image. God's love and blessings upon your day, chris

On the Run

I went out to the ranch to restock the bird feeders today as I have been neglecting them. While I was there I thought to myself. Hmmnnn... might as well give it a try for awhile.It was a poor decision because not one single bird came to the feeders. Finally I made the decision to call it quits. As soon as I stepped out of the blind I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. A small pair of antlers were sticking up above the grass in the shade of the barn about twenty feet away. I slowly tried to raise my camera up but it took off as soon as I moved. Here is an image of him trotting away towards the fenceline.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris

Chasing Deer or "The Look"

I got up to hazy skies this morning from the fires to the east of us. The lighting was soft and good so I decided to go look for two bucks that I spotted yesterday near my house. Blacktail Deer are territorial so if you find them in an area chances are that the following day you can find them somewhere nearby the following day.This was indeed the case as I found them less than a hundred yards from where I spotted them yesterday.There were two three pointers. For eastern United States readers that would be a six point buck.



Sadly the area I found them was in the shade with no great lighting or other features to really make them stand out. That meant I would have to wait for "the look". In photographing deer you really need a few things to make them look good. It's typically best to have them uphill from you as this makes them look bigger. Secondly there needs to be good eye contact or the look where they are staring at you. It also helps if they are standing broadside to you with there head turned towards you or their body is facing away from you and they are looking back at you over their shoulder. Obviously these are just some general rules and many times they should probably be broken if you have a really nice image of a deer is staring at you through the viewfinder of the camera.

I photographed them for about a half an hour before I was about to pack it in.I had some good images but I wanted something better. Suddenly the larger three pointer stood stock still and looked down the hill at me.Not only that but he had some feed in his mouth I had the image I was "looking" for.

God's precious love and blessings to all,

chris

Daily Deer

Deer are fairly common in the area where I live. You pretty much see them on a daily basis when you are driving to and from town in the early morning or late evening. Yesterday on my way home from dropping my son Jay off somewhere on a taxi run I spotted a doe and two fawns. I made a mental note to try and photograph them this morning. I did find them this morning but they were in the forest and the lighting was too difficult to deal with. I checked out a few other spots I'm familiar with and a found a little forked horn buck and a spike buck laying in the grass.There were a couple of fawns there too.



A beautifful way to start the day with some of God's marvelous creatures.

chris