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

Regal Fawn

This morning I went out looking for some deer to photograph. I found two. A nice little forked horn still in velvet on the edge of a ridge and a fawn. I spied the fawn up on the rocks above me as I came around a corner. I couldn't use a tripod because I knew it would bolt if I tried to get out of the car. I braced the camera against the window sill and hoped for the best. I squeezed off a couple of images before it took off up the hill. Not the best of images due to a lack of sharpness but even so I really like it because it looked so regal staring down at me. God's precious light and love to all, chris both images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens. Camera settings- AV mode,ISO 400, F5.6.

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

Just Trot On By

Today I worked on my other blogsite on a tuutorial on how to photograph squirrels. My other site is well suited to those learning photography or someone in need of an idea to jump start something new. As you might imagine it leans towards outdoor and nature photography with some studio stuff thrown in.

http://diyphotocheapodepot.blogspot.com/2011/11/diy-iconic-squirrel-portrait.html

On my way home this morning I was searching for some good light to photograph trees in when this deer just trotted by without stopping. I guess he must have had hot date.

God's blessings to all,

chris

Turkey and Deer Kind of Day

I went for a drive through Little Lake Valley this morning. There were a lot of Wild Turkeys out this morning. On the Clark ranch there were probably over fifty. They were next to a sheep fence so it wasn't very photogenic. I did find a couple of other toms on top of a wooden fence so that was pretty sight to see.




Following my drive through the valley I found another flock of turkeys up closer to where I live and then finally just before heading home I spied a small forked horn and spike Blacktail deer sparring. All in all a pretty productive morning photographing the animals in nature that God has provided.

God's blessings to all,

chris