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.
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