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Big Boy 2013
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Big Boy 2013

by Jerry Austin

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 22, 201495 views3 comments
This is a mature buck I call Big Boy. He resides in the Fort Worth Nature Center. This is the third year that I have photographed this buck. He has changed very little except that his antlers have increased a little in mass. I posted an image of Big Boy back in 11/23/2012. I really enjoy seeing how individual bucks change from year to year. Big Boy usually hangs out in the thick brush, as you can see from this image. I was lucky that he was pretty clear of all the vegetation. I shot this at an ISO of 3200. My 7D is not a very good high ISO performer. However, in this particular shot, the noise was not too bad, even at 3200. I used Neat Image to clean it up a bit. Made adjustments with Photoshop CS3 and LightZone. I like the penetrating stare he's giving me.

Comments and critiques welcome.

Canon 7D
Canon 100-400 L IS
f5.0
1/80 s
ISO 3200
Focal Length 135mm

Comments

3 comments
Comment posted by Gary Gulash on January 22, 2014 at 9:27 PM
Hi Jerry. He is an impressive specimen in his prime. No easy task to photograph him in the thick brush but you have done very well. The green leaves at the top add some unexpected colour amidst the otherwise analogous colour scheme. As with Richard's Spirit Bear photo the main subject is slightly centered but over all it works quite well. :toast:
Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments
Comment posted by Peter Cross on January 22, 2014 at 11:13 PM
I completely understand about shooting deer where there's a lot of confusing vegetation to make a clear shot hard to get. You did really well. Very nice buck, too. The tree trunk on the left is a distraction but cropping it out doesn't help the composition. Nice detail in the fur of this guy. Must have been pretty dark in there considering the ISO and SS you used. Image looks real good nevertheless.
Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments
Comment posted by Lucy Aron on March 22, 2014 at 11:01 AM
Nice shot. Because the buck is so close in color to background, only nit is to soften bgd a little so the subject is in better focus. Or perhaps brighten him somewhat.

lucy
Registered on February 25, 2011, 189 Posts, 1160 Comments