AA (Antlers Anonymous)

Gallery: WildlifePosted February 11, 2014136 views6 comments

So, there I was at the local nature area on a foggy, damp morning trying to work a doe and fawn as things were quiet. I moved a little and began my let them come to you tactic. Soon a number of deer moved in nearby. Does and a whole bunch of large bucks plus a few smaller ones. I thought I was seen a meeting of Antlers Anonymous. I guessing 6-8 large bucks. Soon these two starting sparring. I'm pretty sure in wasn't a fight for dominance. It was pushing and shoving, break and look at each other, then some more pushing. Nothing terribly violent. Soon these two stopped and one moved aside and another buck who had been watching them, stepped forward and we started again. Tag team antler wrestling. At least this time, I got them pretty much in the open and they were closer so no crop needed. Lots of photos but quite a few have some compositional errors on my part so lesson learned is go for the quality and don't worry about quantity. Processing of this included raising the color temp a bit, small decrease in exposure, moderate contrast boost to deal with the flat light, highlights and whites increased, lowered blacks, and boosted saturation and clarity. More tweaking than usual due to the light today. Comments and critiques are welcome and appreciated.

Tech Info

Canon EOS 60D with EF 70-200mm f/4L at 200mm
1/320th at f/4.0 and ISO 500
Tripod
Lightroom 5

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on February 11, 2014 at 11:13 PM

Ok, now this I like a lot! Some very cool action and the tech stuff looks great too. The two bucks stand out very well as they are sharp amidst the otherwise misty surroundings. My only suggestion for change here Peter might be to consider cropping some off the left side; the composition seems a bit right-side heavy and the small doe/fawn that is bedded down on the left is more of a liability than a benefit to the photo imho. Congrats on a fine image.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on February 12, 2014 at 7:34 AM

Peter,

This is one of my favorites of yours. Great action and the foggy aspect makes it even better. I agree with Gary's crop suggestion. I have photographed bucks fighting, but it ws always in thick brush. You were lucky to have an unobstructed view of these guys. Well done.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Bryan Pereira on February 12, 2014 at 2:51 PM

I just left a comment on your other shot. I would do some level adjustment to this too, i love the way you caught the action I would perhaps just try and bring them out a bit more, nice work!

Registered on February 6, 2014, 19 Posts, 27 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on February 12, 2014 at 5:49 PM

Great capture of the action, agree with cropping off on the left. A bit more contrast might be good. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on February 13, 2014 at 3:25 PM

The larger image really shows this off, nice work Peter. I would echo Gary's suggestion of cropping some off the left. I might also try adding a curves adjustment layer to try to bring out some more of the details in the animals.

Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on February 13, 2014 at 11:27 PM

I really like this image also. I like it for all the reasons already stated. If you decide to crop this, I wouldn't crop it much. I like the action off center.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments