Autumn Anger

Gallery: WildlifePosted October 21, 2010227 views10 comments

Hi everyone,
This image shows a rutting red stag in "Flehmen." This is the act of sniffing out the hinds to see if they are receptive and in season.

I quite liked the expression in this shot and the breath.

SHOT INFO

Canon 1D Mark IV
Lens EF500mm f/4L IS USM
Shooting Mode - Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) - 1/250
Av( Aperture Value ) - 6.3
Metering Mode - Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation -2/3
ISO Speed - 400
Auto ISO Speed - OFF

With regards,
Lee

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by István Molnár on October 21, 2010 at 3:48 PM

Hi Lee! Please tell me, where did you take this photo?

István

Registered on January 7, 2010, 114 Posts, 704 Comments

Comment posted by Lee fisher on October 21, 2010 at 4:09 PM

This image was captured in London at a deer Park. They are rutting at the moment and this behaviour can be witnessed now.
Cheers Lee

Registered on September 10, 2010, 13 Posts, 89 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on October 21, 2010 at 6:13 PM

Very nice capture. I like the way he "pops" from the BG and the brush in the FG gives the shot depth. It looks very sharp and the pose, the breath and the behavior are very good. I have seen photos of these guys before that were taken in London and I am wondering is this park fenced or open. Is it like a game preserve or more like a zoo. Do you have to drive through or can you get out and hike around and are there other animals there?

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by Lee fisher on October 21, 2010 at 6:22 PM

The parks are open so the deer can run free and display natural behaviour and people can walk amongst them, I was on foot and about 20 feet or so from this animal. Though they cannot leave the parks due to the outer fencing. I suppose if you had to catagorise the animals they would be classed as semi wild (not a zoo, but not truely free roaming)
They are habituated to human presence which allows the photographer to get a lot closer than would be possible to truely wild deer.

Registered on September 10, 2010, 13 Posts, 89 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on October 21, 2010 at 7:51 PM

Great job getting the breath to be visible and an interesting look (not that appealing though.. a little scary!). I'd try and crop some from the right, as it's a bit cnetered

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Darren Colello on October 22, 2010 at 12:36 PM

Terrific capture Lee. Wonderful composition.

Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on October 22, 2010 at 1:15 PM

Excellent work Lee. That expression is hilarious!

. Not too centered for me, but I just a tad over sharpened IMO.

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on October 22, 2010 at 10:08 PM

Nice capture. Vincent, "google" flehmen response. The action is taking the scent to a specialized organ for analysis!

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Walters on October 23, 2010 at 9:16 PM

Great shot! Love the fact you can see the breath!

Registered on October 30, 2005, 405 Posts, 3693 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on October 24, 2010 at 11:39 AM

Hi Lee,

I like the pose you were given and your composition works just fine for me! My only real nit (and it's more of a suggestion than a nit), is that I think you could make that vapour from the breath stand out a little more with some careful selective contrast work (using a variety of different methods). I think making it a little more visible would improve this already very strong shot. I do agree that there's a few places on this image where it appears a little over-sharpened, specifically the fur on the neck and on the antlers...

Cheers...thanks for sharing this...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments