Still Got 'Em

Gallery: WildlifePosted March 7, 2014119 views7 comments

Here we are in early March and many bucks at the local nature area still are sporting their antlers from last year. Some have dropped them but many have not. I expect to see early growth of antlers soon. This guy was feeding with a bunch of does when I arrived. He stayed for a bit while the others wandered off. This is about 45% of full frame but has held up pretty well. I liked a vertical presentation rather than horizontal for this image. Lots of veg is evident from the out of focus soft areas. Thankfully, this image had none directly on his head. I removed some but left the rest as too much use of the healing brush would have been too apparent. I reduced the exposure by 1/8th stop, added contrast, reduced shadows and blacks and tweaked the whites and highlights. At the end I added some contrast. How did I do? Still learning the use of Lightroom so your comments and crtitiques are welcome and helpful.

Tech Info

Canon EOS 60D with EF 70-200mm f/4L at 200mm
1/640th at f/6.3 and ISO 200
tripod
Lightroom 5

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by John Neukirch on March 7, 2014 at 9:18 PM

A great shot as shown, it would have been spectacular if that darn OOF FG grasses to left of his head weren't so distracting. Still a fantastic shot.

Registered on July 9, 2012, 207 Posts, 1476 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on March 8, 2014 at 12:16 AM

Good pose, nice turn of the head, but have to agree about the OOF grasses! Still a good photo.

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

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on March 8, 2014 at 10:32 AM

You did well. The OOF material near the head is bothersome, but you still got the main facial area dead on along with a good exposure and nice detail. The alert / curious pose is a plus. The lighter fur looks good in the large image so I would say your LR processing was effective as well.

Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on March 8, 2014 at 11:49 AM

Very nice capture of this impressive buck. I agree with John about the OOF vegetation. However, I shoot deer in a habitat that is very similar to yours. Getting a clear shot of any deer, much less a buck, is challenging indeed. So, for me, the OOF vegetation is not a deal breaker. Thanks for sharing.

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

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on March 8, 2014 at 1:20 PM

While I think it would be better without the OOF grasses it is certainly not that big of a distraction to me. I think you did a good job with the choices you had and he is a very nice buck.

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

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on March 9, 2014 at 12:09 AM

I like the appearance of this buck Peter, his alert expression is very appealing. I have to agree with others who feel that the oof grasses are unfortunate; the outer contour of the deer's body on his right side is rather confusing, can't quite make out what's going on there. Won't be too long before you should be having a bunch of fawns to photograph based on the rut action we have seen in your previous photos.

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

Comment posted by William Bickle on March 9, 2014 at 9:36 AM

Hello Peter

Very sharp and detailed head area!

I find the high contrast distracting and somewhat harsh?

The dark shaded areas seem patchy ?

But a n excellent sharp looking specimen.

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments