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The end of the Deer Rut

The deer rut is always a bit of a hit and miss affair, you can never really predict where the fights will be, if at all. And so this year I spent as much time as I could trying to be in the right place at the right time, although wrong place at the wrong time probably suited me better! I did get a couple of good shots though this year…

A fight at sunrise

A fight at sunrise

That one shot that makes it all worthwhile
The shot above of the two deer fighting was taken on the same day as my ‘Early misty morning with the red deer’ article, so I won’t go on too much about it as the day is covered pretty well in that article. However, this shot I consider to be my best from not only that morning, but from all my efforts of the season. For me it captures the mood and atmosphere well but also the essence of the rutting season. It was one of those very rare times when everything came together perfectly…lighting, subject and most importantly…being in the right spot to capture it all! Had I been the other side of them, I’d have been shooting in to a dull grey fog and had they been more out in the open, we wouldn’t have had that tree in the background, framing them nicely and giving the shot added interest. It really is times like this that make all the early starts and days where you don’t get the shot, worthwhile.

Forget clashing antlers, it’s time to box!
My other fight shot I captured is quite different to the usual image you would associate with the rut! I personally had never witnessed deer standing up on their hind legs and ‘boxing’ like this before. Then, this year, I witnessed it happen a couple of times although nearly always far off, or, with the deer half hidden in the bracken. However on this occasion I was hidden amongst a tree line just before the sun set, when I noticed these two out the corner of my eye out. I spun round just as they dropped back down to the floor but kept the camera on them in case they started up again…and sure enough, 20 seconds later they had one last quick box! I had my 1.4x TC on at the time so I had slightly too much magnification – it would have been nice to get both deer in the frame without any cut off but I was quite pleased to capture this behaviour regardless.

Boxing match

Boxing match

Bring on 2009!
The few other action shots I got this year were pretty dire to be honest. Fights all seemed to be in tall bracken so I couldn’t see what was going on or they were in medium height bracken but in thick fog so the images just lack any contrast or impact. As I said at the start, on the whole, being in the right place at the right time just didn’t seem to happen this year…still, there is always next year…!

And finally…
A couple more shots that I liked, although not of the fighting unfortunately. The first for it’s damp, bleak feel on a very cold foggy morning – a real contrast to the golden early morning light the day before. The second, well I just really liked the pose and the hint of rim light from the setting sun.

Cold, damp and foggy

Cold, damp and foggy

A hint of rim light

A hint of rim light

You can see more deer photos and read about other encounters HERE.

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About the author

Richard Peters is a Surrey based professional wildlife photographer, Nikon Ambassador, and one of the few British photographers to receive the accolade of European Wildlife Photographer of the Year. He is known for a style that often favours dramatic use of light, runs wildlife photography workshops and, from camera clubs to big industry events, holds talks about his work.

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