Deer Photography!

Ready….Set….Shoot! (Dust off that camera gear and get out there!)

The cold wet wind pierced my fleece outer jacket like and stung my face as I moved along, my path coursing right into it.

Perfect for still-hunting along this grassy path cut through this over-grown section of woods, I thought. Each foot inched forward, but only after scanning each direction with my eyes first. As my teenage readings from some of the bow hunting greats like Chuck Adams recalled, don’t move your head, move only your eyes as you still-hunt along. And the words of one native American chief rattled around in my head, “move little, see much, move much, see little”.

Slowly and carefully I eased into position beside a double-stemmed shingle oak. I knew something would be coming soon. Or lets just say I had great “faith” that it would. That “something” should be two young whitetail bucks coming along any moment. You see, I’d taken this trail to “cut them off at the pass” after I’d seen them cross the road minutes earlier. At least that was the plan….

I waited…still nothing…so I gave my rattle bag a little try…tumbling the sticks inside the cloth bag as I spanked it around in my hands. It sounds like a small buck, I thought as I slipped it carefully back into my pack. And lucky as I be – here they come! Led by a 1.5 year old whitetail buck with a broken off right antler beam.

No these were not trophies to most hunters. Not to anyone, in most cases, really. But to me, right then, and right there, they were….TROPHIES!

These deer were going to get shot! And I was going to take them home!

Ready set….aim…fire…fire..fire! The bucks had no clue I was there, and one almost stepped on my toes as he browsed his way right towards me, as I continued shooting, with him feeding on coral berry bushes the whole way.

You see that is the benefit about “shooting” deer with a camera. You can shoot them multiple times and you can shoot them in a state park or refuge!

Of course, yes, I am speaking only of shooting deer with a camera! But, again, so much is that the benefit..and the fun!

I’ve grown to love the fun and the great challenge of shooting all sorts of wildlife with a camera; in fact, I enjoy this almost as much as I do hunting them!

How many times have you been out hunting and have seen something tremendously special? Two big whitetails fighting under your stand, perhaps? Or maybe a beautiful red fox walking in front of your ground blind, with the soft glow of an early morning sunrise coming down on him? Or, maybe, a curious young buck starting at you in a confused state of disbelieve from a mere 10 feet.

You know what I mean – you go hunting and bring back many more memories than you do antlers or venison. At least I do. I think most do.

Nothing wrong with memories…!

But that’s the beauty of the camera – capture your memories and bring them home to share with family and friends. Capture an image of that big buck that keeps giving you the slip. Capture shots of all those “non-shooter” bucks that you are waiting on to grow into the “skyscraper” bucks that dance around in your dreams. You can let them grow and still shoot them with a camera! Fun…yes it is. It is – believe me!

A spotted fawn, photo above, is a rather rare sight this late in the season!

And a great thing about it? There are no seasons that you have to deal with. There are no licenses that you’ll need (perhaps you may need a permit of some type in some locations – such as certain refuge areas. But, in general, there are no licenses to purchase when you take wildlife photos)

But – hey – lets do not mistake fun and rewarding for easy.

No one said bringing home great wildlife photos was easy! Bringing back “photos” may be easy – in relative terms – but there is great challenge in bringing back stunning photos! In fact, some would argue that it is just as hard – and perhaps harder – to bring home a stunning – wall-hanger – type shot of a giant whitetail buck with a camera than it is to shoot one with a bow or gun! Some would argue that anyway – and you can count me in on one of the some!

(Even getting a decent image of the female whitetail variety is a challenge, I’ll tell you that!)

(I photographed the above buck after he just got done fighting with another buck in the bushes — I never even saw the other one.)

I’m still working on that, too, by the way….taking stunning photos of big, wild, whitetail bucks! I am always striving for better. But again, so much is the fun of it. Challenging! There is nothing necessarily satisfying about doing something that lacks significant effort or will.

Keep in mind: the greatness of your photo reward is directly proportional to the effort and technique you put into it. Usually. Sure sometimes an “easy” shot comes your way. But more often than not, great shots don’t accidentally fall into your lap. You have to work at getting them. Again…though..that is all part of the fun!

So what are you waiting for?

Ready…set…shoot!