Deer Photography

[Jeapesy]

I was hoping some of you may be able to offer me some advice on deer photography as theres a lot of great deer photos within the Gallery.

Basically i went out at the weekend around the Ingatestone in Essex and found loads of herds of fallow deer and the odd lone muntjac deer within some wooded areas i was exploring. I was dressed in full camo and moving as quietly as possible but still as soon as i'd see the deers almost instantly they'd have disappeared (especially the muntjac) leaving me little chance to get a good shot. Should i use a hide? Prop myself up against a tree and wait? Or perhaps better my stalking skills? Any advice would be much appreciated.

[pressld2]

For stalking deer smell is a very important consideration. They have extremely sensitive noses and if the wind is carrying your scent towards them they will know you're there instantly. The best advice is to use unscented soap, don't wear deodorant and approach with the wind blowing from the deer towards you. If you can leave your trousers and jacket hanging outside for a few days beforehand that will help to remove the smell of detergent, fabric conditioner, perspiration etc.

Dave P.

[derelict]

Originally Posted by pressld2

For stalking deer smell is a very important consideration. They have extremely sensitive noses and if the wind is carrying your scent towards them they will know you're there instantly. The best advice is to use unscented soap, don't wear deodorant and approach with the wind blowing from the deer towards you. If you can leave your trousers and jacket hanging outside for a few days beforehand that will help to remove the smell of detergent, fabric conditioner, perspiration etc.

Dave P.

Well that would certainly explain why you weren't too bothered about my boots in your car!! Ukwildlife0 must know that location - I don't know if the Ingatestone Hall deer are wild or not - it matters!

Britishwildlife says something quite useful on this in the thread :

Can deer be aggressive ?

the consensus seems to be if they're wild deer you have no option but to stalk, and they will punish you for your mistakes. If they're park deer and well used to people then behave like they would expect an ordinary visitor to behave (n.b. that doesn't mean running after them with a cameraphone!)

And there are various other threads on this topic too! Try the search facility

[Jeapesy]

Originally Posted by derelict

Well that would certainly explain why you weren't too bothered about my boots in your car!! Ukwildlife0 must know that location - I don't know if the Ingatestone Hall deer are wild or not - it matters!

Britishwildlife says something quite useful on this in the thread :

Can deer be aggressive ?

the consensus seems to be if they're wild deer you have no option but to stalk, and they will punish you for your mistakes. If they're park deer and well used to people then behave like they would expect an ordinary visitor to behave (n.b. that doesn't mean running after them with a cameraphone!)

And there are various other threads on this topic too! Try the search facility

Thanks for your suggestions fellas and i'll check out the other thread you mention. I believe they are wild, guess i'm going to have to plan another trip which will hopefully be a bit more successful.

[Ukwildlifeo]

Originally Posted by derelict

Well that would certainly explain why you weren't too bothered about my boots in your car!! Ukwildlife0 must know that location - I don't know if the Ingatestone Hall deer are wild or not - it matters!

Woops - nope that site has passed me by! I went all the way to Richmond on Saturday (for the first time at a weekend in rutting season and that was an experience! - I think Ill stick to weekends at this time of the year in future!).

As for the getting close to wild deer, Im probably not much use: most my experience is with captive/semi captive and quite tame deer, where the ebst Idea is to let them know your there and make no sudden moves.
My limited experiences in New forest involved stumbling across roe deer will wandering round. When I did I just kept as still as possible and cursed my fz7 noisy (in the finally 'grainy' picture sense) performance in low light conditions, and the deer, although obviously slightly nervous about me being there, didnt run off or anything and slowly kept moving in the direction they were heading before

[derelict]

Originally Posted by Ukwildlifeo

I went all the way to Richmond on Saturday (for the first time at a weekend in rutting season and that was an experience! :eek

Do I take it the crowds came out to greet you? Or were the deer thinking about their equity cards and put on a real show? !!

[Rob T]

Jeapsy,

This is a thread i posted for someone else a few months ago:-

Dos'nt sound like your having alot of luck, dont give up though.

The first thing to remember when out looking for wild deer is allways, allways be down wind if your not they wont be there to see, they will be long gone so aproach your wood /fields with the breeze or wind in your face.

Whilst walking through a wood try to keep to the paths once off the path youll probably be walking on leaves and twigs, the sound of a rustling leaves or a broken twig will send the deer into the next wood before you've even seen them. Deer will not be so alarmed by familier path walk noises. I was once watching a buck led up and a group of cyclists stopped on a path not 30ft. away and the deer looked but never even stopped chewing.

If your going to see any deer at all before dark and first light and an hour after will probably be as successfull as the rest of the day put together, but you could stumble across one at any time.

Keep an eye open for narrow well worn walkways through feilds/ferns say 9'' to a foot wide, some of these tracks can be hundreds of years old and used by fox, hare and deer. see what happens to them when passing through hedges/ fences is there any signs of tracks or hair, these walkways could be used daily.

Have a drive round your local green fields and stop at every gate or look through the hedges Roe deer love to nibble the shoots at this time of year, but they re not to keen on fields with sheep or cows in, but I have seen them share a field with horses.

I hope you get started soon and just one more thing Ive just looked at my Gallery and I have 50 odd shots of deer and only 4 were taken whilst laying in wait, so keep walking in the shadows with the wind in your face on the path.


Everyone has their own way to catch deer but the above has helped me to take about 1,500 deer photos.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Rob

[Jeapesy]

Originally Posted by Ukwildlifeo

Woops - nope that site has passed me by! I went all the way to Richmond on Saturday (for the first time at a weekend in rutting season and that was an experience! - I think Ill stick to weekends at this time of the year in future!).

There are large heards of deer around Hylands Park in chelmsford and Ingatestone, you should check it out. I parked at a place called Loves Green and set off walking the countryside, within around 10mins i'd already stumble across my first heard with their heads popping above a bush in a wooded area.

Originally Posted by Rob T

Jeapsy,

This is a thread i posted for someone else a few months ago:-

Dos'nt sound like your having alot of luck, dont give up though.

The first thing to remember when out looking for wild deer is allways, allways be down wind if your not they wont be there to see, they will be long gone so aproach your wood /fields with the breeze or wind in your face.

Whilst walking through a wood try to keep to the paths once off the path youll probably be walking on leaves and twigs, the sound of a rustling leaves or a broken twig will send the deer into the next wood before you've even seen them. Deer will not be so alarmed by familier path walk noises. I was once watching a buck led up and a group of cyclists stopped on a path not 30ft. away and the deer looked but never even stopped chewing.

If your going to see any deer at all before dark and first light and an hour after will probably be as successfull as the rest of the day put together, but you could stumble across one at any time.

Keep an eye open for narrow well worn walkways through feilds/ferns say 9'' to a foot wide, some of these tracks can be hundreds of years old and used by fox, hare and deer. see what happens to them when passing through hedges/ fences is there any signs of tracks or hair, these walkways could be used daily.

Have a drive round your local green fields and stop at every gate or look through the hedges Roe deer love to nibble the shoots at this time of year, but they re not to keen on fields with sheep or cows in, but I have seen them share a field with horses.

I hope you get started soon and just one more thing Ive just looked at my Gallery and I have 50 odd shots of deer and only 4 were taken whilst laying in wait, so keep walking in the shadows with the wind in your face on the path.


Everyone has their own way to catch deer but the above has helped me to take about 1,500 deer photos.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Rob

Thanks rob this is sound advice and i'll be sure to bear these points in mind next time i'm out. Hopefully i'll finally get some photos of deer, if they're anywhere your standard i'll be chuffed.

[Ukwildlifeo]

Originally Posted by Jeapesy

There are large heards of deer around Hylands Park in chelmsford and Ingatestone, you should check it out. I parked at a place called Loves Green and set off walking the countryside, within around 10mins i'd already stumble across my first heard with their heads popping above a bush in a wooded area.

Its funny I was in Hylands park on Friday (for my frioends wedding) and I said to my gf I hope no deer appear as I might get distracted!

[Keith Talbot]

hi jeapesy,

as robs already said everyones got there own methods and mine seem to work for me,

to me the most important thing i believe is knowing your subject,the more you learn about the deer the easier the photography becomes,ie knowing their favorite habitats etc will help find them in the first place

the more you get out there and watch them the more you understand their movements etc,dont always push things in order to get a photo,im just as happy to sit and watch and if a photo opportunity arrives then its a bonus.

one of the other most important factors is patience,the roe deer pics in my Gallery for instance took just over 3 hours! to get,i dont meen sitting around and hopeing something comes along,i go out and find them first (easier said than done)then slowly get into a good position and then just sit there,as long as your not making any sudden movement or noises they will usually get used to you and carry on regardless,

anyway i could ramble on for hours,hope you have some success and i look forward to seeing your results soon

keith