He's Behind You!! -Red Deer

Sorry for the 'panto'line but I get great enjoyment from my images of nature and I try to pass that on .The real story for me in this image and the reason for taking it was the second male looming behind the one in the foreground who was roaring during the rut last week.He was completely unaware at the time of me taking this picture of the presence of a second male who was making a challenge for his females.I composed it this way to try and convey the dramtic and tense atmosphere this situation had created by the challenge of the second red deer in the background.When the front male had turned around and seen him there was plenty of roaring and chasing and in the end the first male saw him off and had held onto his female's,and peace returned
All Comments And Advice Welcome

Tech;
Nikon D300
Nikon F4VR600
F5.6,1/160
iso 400,+0.3ev
Matrix
PP-CS3,Full Frame,No Crop

Thanks For Looking

The colours and action are good, but it would work far better if the foreground stag was facing/roaring into the frame, rather than out; losing the brown part of the OoF foreground or having the whole composition lower in the frame would, I think, make for a better image.

Hi Craig, I think I echo much of Nigel's comments and would add that perhaps a little more DOF will have given us more sense of the pending interaction between the stags. Both very nice animals by the looks of their antlers though.

Brett

Firstly. congratulations on your 'Dippers Of The Dales' article in Birdwatching Magazine. Well done indeed. I must agree with Nigel and Brett regarding this image.
Removing the brown OOF foreground and increasing DOF would improve things IMHO. A very nice capture of the main subject though.

Thank you all, more DOF and I may not have got the shutter speed and nigel I agree I wish he had roared facing inwards but as ever in nature it happened so quick but thank you all for your comments and I have cropped this one.David very kind of you to say and I am helping with a project to highlight the problem and have received brillant feedback from the birdwatching team,I have printed a letter on my new blog (below) so I hope to help the plight of the Dipper and again thanks and hope you are fighting fit again

Second image does it for me, Craig. Just read your blog. Good to see your successes in the nature photography world. Having the plastic stent removed next Tuesday, hopefully. Can't wait to get back to 'normal'.

Very nice, I prefer the second composition wise. As already mentioned a little more dof would help. I don't mind the first stag roaring out of the frame though, to me it gives a sense of the second stag almost creeping up on him.

Like both these shots - with a preference for the second.

Ditto second shot...like the title also. It tells a story.

Ian

Second one Craig for me but over all do find the grass a bit over saturated.
Otherwise a pleasing image telling a story.

Major.