Young bucks sparring, Sterling Heights, Michigan | Nikon D800, 500mm f4

This field is about a 2 minute drive from my house.    I normally could just walk here, but it is not always a final destination for me.   I noted quite a few deer gathering in this field one evening and told myself I was going to start checking it out in the mornings before I head anywhere else.

First time – total bust.   Second time – one deer, scampered off.   Third time was this past weekend where about 8 of them were in the field – 4 bucks and 4 does.   Worth sticking around a bit.  Most of the bucks were pretty young, and one elder 6 pointer that tended to just herd the does around.

Despite all the car and human traffic in the area, they are still a bit skittish, and I ended up photographing them from my car window.    I intend to try some more outside of the car.   Like most wildlife photography, patience pays off when you let your subjects get comfortable with your presence.  Eventually some of them wandered within decent range of my 500 mm lens.   And of course, the young bucks need to do a little sparring practice.

This is a much better place to photograph deer than where I normally encounter them in my woods.  There it is full of poison ivy, thorny poke-you-in-the-eye bushes everywhere, and generally a very cluttered environment.   So yes, I’ll take a simple green field with a few clover thank you.

It felt good to be out, even though I only spent about an hour here.   The summer has felt like pretty much a failure on my part in doing anything significant photography-wise.   But the cool, crisp mornings are here, the changing season brings energy into the air that I can feel, and the anxiousness to get out starts climbing again.