Fighting Kentucky Bucks: A Chance Encounter

 I love photographing the deer who frequent the fields and woodlands behind where I live. Kentucky is home to a healthy and diverse selection of Whitetail Deer and there is a local herd that has provided many fun photographic opportunities. A late evening chance encounter on a chilly, January day offered a wonderful photo op. Two nice bucks were but two of several deer feeding in the fields and they provided a natural show where their instinctive desire to dominate other bucks played out in front of my camera.

As they tend to do, late on this January day about a dozen or so deer meandered into the cornstubble fields behind my house. I had setup in a slightly different location from my normal spot in an attempt to gain better viewing of three fields. I kept my setup simple wearing camo clothing along with a leafy camo top covering. I also simply covered my camera and tripod with a small piece of camo burlap just to break up its pattern and to provide a small area for me to sit behind to also help mask any movements the deer might detect. It was simple and effective.

I sat under a large cedar tree situated on a corner of a wooded area which provided a dark background that helped to conceal and break up my silhouette. I had managed to capture quite a few images and some video footage and was about to lose most of the light. It was overcast and dark anyway, and as the day progressed toward sundown, the light rapidly faded. As the deer in front of me meandered away I thought it a good time to pack up and leave so as not to disturb them. 

As I gathered my gear, I noticed across the field to the northwest, several deer feeding. I zoomed in to take a look and found at least four bucks, two of which supporting pretty decent antlers. A third one looked odd and at closer inspection I discovered one of his antlers had broken off so he only had antlers on one side. That was unfortunate because the one he did have looked to be the largest of the three bucks. He eventually wandered off but the two others remained and to my surprise they began to spar with each other.

By this time the daylight grew darker every minute and they were a good 300 yards away. Even so, I could not pass up this opportunity and repositioned my tripod and zoomed in as far as my 500mm lens would take me.  It provided just enough reach and allowed for the capture of several minutes worth of those two going at it with each other.

Eventually, the light simply grew to low and I had to let them go, but being able to witness these two spar the way they did was a wonderful chance encounter. Sometimes events just happen and we find ourselves in the right place at the right time. Never had I witnessed in the wild two bucks sparring like that before. It was clear they were simply sparring and not aggressively fighting, but enough mild aggression from both gave the encounter a sense rawness in nature. 

Photographing deer in their natural environment partaking of their natural behavior unaware of you the photographers presence is always a challenge. Their senses are so defined they will detect the slightest of movements or lock onto the softest of unnatural sounds. The chatter of my camera's shutter release, although not particularly loud, but rather soft in nature, is still different enough from the natural sounds they hear all the time. They will pick up and lock onto the direction of the sound with ease. Often they will study with their keen eyes where that sound is coming from. Even though I always wear camouflaged clothing and a face mask, plus hide either behind a makeshift or natural blind, it seems they always locate me. 

To get close enough to capture compelling images is always a challenge even with a large telephoto lens. Deer possess that uncanny ability to know their surroundings and when anything is out of sync, they will investigate and then run off. It is why they have survived for as long as they have. I am truly fortunate to have a location I can easily access and photograph these amazing animals. So far, they seem to always have the last word in our interactions...but, that's perfectly okay with me. They challenge me and I keep learning...I still have much to learn about their behavior.

When the Weather is Bad...It's Really, Really Good

 The deep freeze that settled over Kentucky left its winter signature over the landscape with snow and sub freezing temperatures that extended for the better part of a week. All the ponds froze and even the larger lakes became encrusted with a layer of ice. By the beginning of the second week, warmer temperatures infiltrated along with a steady supply of rain that swamped the landscape for another week. Two weeks of bad weather and I loved it because, as a photographer, when the weather is bad, it is really, really good for capturing moody and dramatic light.

A break in the weather came toward the end of the icy week with broken clouds and blue sky peaking through. The daytime temps still hovered in the upper teens but I could not pass up the opportunity to return to one of my best rustic locations where the combination of snow, fence row, background trees, clouds, and sky offered one of those rare moments in Kentucky when all the ingredients fall into place for a winter wonderland scenic landscape. 

My fingers turned into icicles as I stood in the open with exposed finger tips. So numb they became, I could not feel the shutter release button and struggled to fired off the shots. Even so, I did manage to capture a few images, and my fingers quickly thawed once I returned to the confines of my Jeep.

I did manage to get out a few more times and photographed the local deer herd in the snow along with other landscape scenes. Always exciting to photograph deer in the fields. Add a layer of snow and cold air, the experience becomes almost surreal. Overcast skies and soft blue light gave the scene an historical measure as though being transported back in time to another era. Being warmly dressed, I braved the cold yet still felt its sting. All of it, every icy snowflake hitting my face, every numb finger, every chill infiltrating through the layers of clothing, was worth every moment.

Eventually, warmer weather settled in and the snow began to melt, but the ice covered ponds and lakes retained their icy mantle for several more days. This along with the rain and warmer temps created an amazing opportunity on Barren River Lake when fog drifted like a soft blanket across the still mushy frozen ice. I managed to spend most of a full day out there searching for and photographing this amazing combination of conditions.

With the rain and fog, it became so hazy, my camera found it difficult to find enough contrast to focus properly. I really had to struggle with it, but managed to make it all come together.

The fog was simply incredible in that it seemed to lay down close to the waters surface and slowly drift with the air currents which lifted the veil up and over the rugged shoreline and into the trees where it hovered like a ghostly apparition. It rained off and on, hard at times, but steady and eventually all that rain soaked through my rain gear and I became somewhat soggy. I loved it.

I made it over to the tailwaters area below the dam. There I discovered a good number of gulls flying around looking for something to eat as the small fish were washed through the turbines. I practiced following flying birds with my camera and big lens. Never been very good at such things, but did manage to catch a few shots of these amazingly graceful flyers. When spring comes, they will migrate back to their breeding grounds and will return again the next winter.

I must admit, it was fun to watch them zip and dart, then plunge into the water. If one happened to catch something, all the other gulls tried to steal it from him.

There were also Blue Herons standing in the tailwaters. Normally quite skittish, they seemed rather tame as I was able to easily approach them and capture a few images of their graceful stance.

The day became one of those iconic days, the kind of day that builds on the reservoir of memories collected from times past. I'll not long forget how the morning fog embraced the lakeshore and how the rain blended with the fog to create a soft misty atmosphere. Cold fingers, soggy clothing from leaky rain gear, constantly drying wet camera gear...yeah, when the weather turns bad, more often than not, it is good for the photographer. 

I suppose it is simply a matter of perspective, but one where you must be willing to charge into the moment and expect the best outcome regardless of the conditions. The roughly two weeks of marginal weather provided some wonderful opportunities to explore the best of nature at her...worst.

Black and White: What Makes It So Appealing

 The first time I gazed across and through an Ansel Adams photograph, I, for the first time, discovered the power and strength of a black and white photograph. Ever since that time so many years ago, black and white photography has held an appeal for me. Putting into words why that is, is much more difficult than actually creating the images, for black and white does not always appeal to everyone. It seems to take a deeper grasp of the revealing nature of black and white, one that comes from within as opposed to a simple visual connection. The roots of my journey into black and white photography flows back to my first attempts at photography as a youth when I first used my grandparents old Kodak Nbr 1 box film camera. From those early days until now, black and white inspires me to see the world through a different set of eyes, and that inspiration helps me to lift the veil inherent within a color photograph to reveal the hidden graphic nature of black and white.

We live in a world filled with color, yet even today with all the technology available to the photographer, there is still a place for black and white. A black and white image is timeless in that what is captured and printed could very well be a throwback to a hundred years before. The distraction of color has been removed and what is left is the vision the photographer encountered during a single moment in time.

It takes a different way of seeing to look past the color world and identify the textures, shapes, forms, compositional elements, contrasts, and power of the light, that remains. Finding it is often illusive. Capturing it not always easy. Yet when it is there, the trained eye can look past what nature shows us in color, to identify a hidden appeal where all of those elements just mentioned come to life. Knowing what will translate well into a black and white image comes with experience and that is gained through a willingness to try something new.

Walking away from what we see naturally, is not always readily accomplished. Yet, when it works, the strength of the moment stands apart from what was at one time a simple visual occurrence, to become a transformed emotional graphic representation of what was felt. In fact, once color has been removed, all that remains is the emotional experience, and black and white can effectively capture those moments like no other visual medium.

Winter Photography - Whitetail Deer, Sandhill Cranes, and A Coyote

 A cold front fell across Kentucky this week, the kind where the landscape froze under a blanket of snow and the wind knifed through every layer of clothing. Along with it came a photographic opportunity I could simply not pass up. In spite of the frigid temperatures, I ventured to the cornfields and setup my simple camo-burlap blind and waited for the deer to find their way into their feeding grounds. 

During that wait, a flight of about two hundred Sandhill Cranes flew over, their ancient migration a right of passage for all nature photographers. Although they did not set down in front of my location, they did set down nearby. Just seeing them was reward enough. 

A short while later I noticed some movement across the cornstubble. A quick look through the camera's long lense revealed a coyote searching for a meal. He was not typical of most coyotes around here. He looked strong and healthy and his thick coat carried a lot of black across his back and sides and the length of his tail. He also had a while chin and lower neck. I thought he might have been what is known as a coydog, a cross between a wild coyote and a domesticated dog. Regardless, he was fun to watch.

After a while he trotted the length of the field and crossed in front of me and passed over into the other western field. A few moments later, I heard snorts of distress and alarm from the deer as they encountered this marauding hunter. The coyote must have caught something for there was a continuous crying of alarm sounding a lot like a dying rabbit, but not exactly the same. It also carried the sound of a young deer being alarmed, the kind of sound that alerted and agitated the deer herd. They, wanting to distance themselves from the coyote, entered the field in front of me where I was able to capture both video and still shots of these amazing animals.

Come and join me on this fascinating, very cold and snowy, photographic hunt across the farm country of Kentucky.

Photographing Kentucky Deer

 Spent a few hours on a cold January day videoing the deer that inhabit the fields and woodlands around where I live. 

The DIY Wooden Double End Canoe Paddle

 They both had sat in my garage for the better part of four decades. One I had used quite a lot in those early days when budget and desire often collided. The other was rarely used and served simply as a backup...just in case. I'm talking about two inexpensive wooden Feather Brand canoe paddles. The older one was so heavily aged it had developed a dark patina where the finish was no longer smooth and clear but had turned a dark brown complete with deep gouges, nicks, and separating laminents (fixed with heavy duty staples). The other still looks almost new except for some minor laminate separation near the end of the blade (also fixed) and a few scuff marks. Neither canoe paddle had been used for probably over twenty years, but both were still sound in spite of needing some minor repairs. They were destined for a new life and were to become the source of a DIY wooden double end canoe paddle.

(Going to briefly step away from photography and talk a bit more about the outdoor aspect of this site. The past several seasons I have become more involved with backpacking, and canoe camping, employing photography and videography as an element of those adventures. This short piece explains how I managed to make a wooden double canoe paddle. The project was pretty easy to do and a lot of fun to complete.)

Virtually all of my canoe experience involved using a single paddle. In spite of all the off and on years of canoeing, I never really perfected what is called the J-Stroke. That is where you paddle on one side of the canoe for extended periods, but maintain a straight course by rotating the paddle outward at the end of the stroke to gently guide the canoe back onto your intended course. I usually applied a simple or modified version of the J-Stroke by simply dragging the paddle blade at the end of a stroke and use it as type of rudder to steer a somewhat straight path. It worked, but was and is somewhat inefficient and you lose a lot of momentum in the process. The thought of using a double end paddle never really occurred to me. They of course, in my way of thinking, were used in the realm of kayaks, not canoes.

Prototype joint

In recent times I started watching and following several outdoor related YouTube video programs and by doing so noticed how often the hosts were using double end paddles while canoeing. What really caught my attention was just how straight they tracked and how rapidly and smoothly they moved across the water. Intrigued, I visited the local Cabela's store to check out their selection of double end paddles. Well, lets just say I did not want to spend $80 to over $100 dollars for a paddle but I did gain some insights into the length of, and configuration of the ones they had.

On the way home, I remembered those two old paddles hanging up in my garage and was inspired by a epiphany; why not combine them to make my own! I pulled them down and laid them out on the garage floor and measured their combined length which was somewhere around 100 inches. Way too long. I overlapped the handles about foot or so and using three heavy duty zip ties, laced them together. 

Prototype

The overall length ended up about 90 inches. I also took a length of paracord and tightly wound it around the joint for reinforcement. A day or two later, I was on the water giving it a try...and to my astonishment, it worked great! My paddling technique required some improvement, but I soon got the hang of it and continued to use this prototype for several more trips.

Once I knew the idea was sound, I decided to permanently join the two paddles. The way I accomplished this was to cut a few inches off the handle, then using my son's table saw (you can cut the notches by hand if you are careful), I cut about a 10 inch notch in the end of both. These notches were then overlapped to form a joint. Liberally applying some strong glue and clamping the ends together, after a few hours, the joint was good and solid, but not nearly as strong as I wanted. 

Joint strengthened with paracord and
inserted wooden dowels

To strengthen the joint, I drilled three 5/16 inch evenly spaced holes in the joint then glued and tapped in three wooden dowels. After they set up, I cut off the excess dowel, sanded, and applied a few coats of varnish. I still was not satisfied, so using the previous length of paracord, I tightly rewrapped the joint to provide that extra bracing. Near the base of both paddles I inserted a block of foam pipe insulation, taping both pieces to each end of the paddle and also applied a short decorative section of paracord to keep them in place. These served to prevent water from running down your arms during the paddle rotation on each stroke.

I could not wait to give it a try and within a day or so was back on the water and the results were fantastic. I was able to smoothly cover more distance at a faster pace with less effort. This diy double paddle has become my go to paddle when I am wanting to make a long canoe trip. I've already made two long day trips on the lake, one 15 miles and another about 18 miles, and plan on even longer ones this upcoming new season. 

I still use a single paddle and always carry one with me as a spare should the double one break and should I make a river trip, I believe the single paddle would be a better choice. In recent weeks, I actually built two wooden single paddles from scratch. One was made using poplar and the other using ordinary pine. 

Both were cut out with a jigsaw and shaped using a jack plane, spoke plane, and a block plane along with a belt sander and orbital sander. The one made of poplar, I glued laminated edges to the blade to make it a little wider. To each about 6 to 8 coats of varnish was applied. The poplar one turned out so nice, to avoid risking damaging it, I decided not to use it, but to enjoy it as a finished piece of woodworking...it looks more like a piece of furniture and is standing in the corner of the dining room. The other one made from pine, is a bit more roughly made and I will actually use it. It is about 5 inches longer than my other paddles so I'm curious about its performance and how well  it will hold up and handle. Both use a length of hardwood along the shaft to strengthen it at the weakest point.

The double paddle will not breakdown into two parts, but it is actually quite easy to transport without doing so. However, I am planning on building another one, but design it so it can be broken down into two components to make it a bit easier to transport. Still working on the design concept and it should, as did the two single paddles, provide for a fun winter project.

The nice thing about these projects was that neither of them cost me much of anything. The double paddle project was simple and the two wooden single paddles were both fun projects in their own right. Building the double paddle being so simple, no video is really required to understand how to make one, but I did include a few photos to help clarify what it looks like. There is nothing like the look and feel of a wooden canoe paddle.