Autumn Roe Deer

A couple of weeks back I was out looking for roe deer again. It was during that ridiculously hot spell, and it seemed to bring a wave of wildlife activity. I don't think I have ever had so many quality views of wildlife in one day. From roe deer to foxes, red kites, hares and more.. It was wonderful.

This image shows one male roe deer chasing another male. Roe are funny animals; you never know what they are going to do next. At first they wandered casually into the field; then suddenly broke out into a frenzy of galloping. After a few seconds they were back to normality and carried on happily grazing together. I managed to stalk pretty close with a straight 300mm lens. Annoyingly the deer I was concentrating on didn't spot me at all; but the other one did..  One bark and they were both off, leaping away to safety and putting end to another morning's wildlife photography...

Summer Returns!

With temperatures increasing to a completely unseasonal level, I managed a couple of productive days photographing agricultural landscape images. Many of the fields had been cut, providing lovely tramlines of fresh green grass running throughout the landscape. The lines were so powerful I decided to return early the next day to capture the scene at dawn. The forecast was accurate and the sky clear. Composition was the hardest part of this photography shoot; so many different angles. As often is the case - the simplest composition seemed to be the best..

Later in the day I was treated to a wonderful wildlife sight; an adult fox casually wandering between the tram lines, investigating the green mounds in search of food. I love to capture natural images like this one - something that says more about the animal, rather than a straight portrait... Funnily enough I had just been talking to a guy who had described badgers doing this very thing during the last hours of daylight.

Wildlife Photography on the Farm

Farmland wildlife is an ongoing passion of mine and I have spent many hours over the years learning about the habits of the animals that live on a local farm - in particular brown hare and roe deer. Taken this morning, these pictures show that I am finally getting close to capturing some intimate images:

A roe buck wanders past one of the straw bales - pefectly relaxed.

Hares have always been a real favourite of mine which made today's encounter even more special. Lying on the ground in camouflage I was suddenly joined by up to 6 hares as they chased each other in circles; running, jumping - and momentarily stopping, allowing me to get some low level portraits.

I think I may have actually cracked it! I know what works, so it's a case of trying it again and being ready. Let's just hope the hares are still bounding with energy..!