Deer in the Tall Grass

[terrib]

While I ponder how to present my last landscape in B&W, I thought I'd post some wildlife from my trip to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR northeast of Denver, CO.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Army used this area for chemical weapons production. Parts were later used by Shell Oil to produce agricultural chemicals. In the 1980's a joint cleanup was begun which was finished in 2010. During that time, land was slowly converted to a wildlife refuge. For more info, click the link above.

This was my first visit to the refuge and I was not disappointed. These shots are of White-tailed Deer. The first was taken mid-afternoon while I was doing my recon of the area. The others were early next morning. Although it was challenging to catch clear views of the animals in all the tall grass, I really liked the results when I did. To me the soft greens of the grasses/plants created great environmental shots.

Photo #1 White-tailed Deer fawn. This one is a touch soft probably due to handholding the 150-600mm lens across the passenger seat.


Photo #2 Fawn with her mother. This is my favorite. I love the echo of the mother in the background. I would have preferred that I'd left a touch more room above and to the left of her but I don't think that has ruined the shot.


Photo #3 Fawn doing the typical White-tailed "flagging". Posting this one for fun although I think it's a pretty good behavioral shot. Funny but I think this photo has gotten more "likes" than any other I've posted recently on FB.


C&C and edits are always welcome and appreciated.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done, I think part of the reason the third is so appealing is that it has a bit of mystery to it, what is it that has captured the deer's attention, is it danger or something playful. Nice captures.

[bnnrcn]

They are all nice , but #2 is especially nice

[NorthernFocus]

Nice set, Terri. I agree with your favorite of no.2. The OOF mother in the BG is great. Perhaps no.3 is so popular because it is the most commonly viewed end of the whitetail deer

[Teton Chuck]

Teri, very nice shots. The second one appeals to me. I like the out of focus deer in the background. It makes me wonder what else is back there. And thanks for the tip on the refuge. My son and his family live nearby. Next visit I will have to check it out.

[terrib]

Thank you, everyone for your comments. Chuck, if you are there in the spring/summer there are Burrowing Owls. First time I've ever seen them and they are a lot of fun. I think it's getting close to time for them to leave. I've seen many pictures of buffalo but in all the times I went through over 2 days, I only saw one lonely buffalo and he wouldn't ever raise his head from grazing. Disappointing as I wasted a good bit of beautiful golden light waiting on him and missed the opportunity for a huge White-tailed buck in that light.

[Mike Buckley]

I really like the mood of the first two images. The animal's head in the first one doesn't look at all soft to me, at least at this size.

I like the character of the third one. Consider desaturating the yellow blossoms a bit so they don't detract from the deer's tail. I seem to remember that you don't like using vignettes, but a vignette would make that tail pop and justify all those Facebook likes. Also try adding some Local Contrast Enhancement just to the tail.

[Digital]

Terri, very nice captures.



Bruce

[ied]

Beautiful captures Terri, I especially like # 2 for the pose and OOF.
Irene

[IzzieK]

The featherlike tail of the third one is fascinating, Terri...Love it. #2 is a very beautiful shot with the echo of the mother nearby. It is the pose of #1 that makes this shot really good Terri. I can't pinpoint a favourite between #1 and 2...