A trio of stags

[Dave Humphries]

... of the Red Deer variety (not beetles, nor old Triumph 'sports' cars)


Nikon D5000 + Nikon 70-300mm VR: 300mm, 1/750s, f/8, iso400 (209-43505)
F11 and click image to see at 1,626px × 1,080px

Shot in Richmond Park on 19 November.

This is uncropped; I wish I had just a tad more space below and to right, but not too bad?

EDIT:
I just realised; I have made it too tall for most screens, it'll probably need opening in a new tab to be seen 1:1 to assess sharpness - meaning it looks soft if you don't

C&C welcome,

[FrankMi]

Hi Dave! Great capture! Do you think the image would be stronger if two in the background weren't there (or were more muted) and your attention was just on the one in sharp focus?

[Donald]

I wish I had just a tad more space below and to right, but not too bad?

Mmm - not so sure! I like the arrangement of the three animals within the frame and think that the composition works well. A crop (of any sort) would alter the position of that front animal relative to the overall image and also alter its size relative to the overall image. And I'm not sure that would work as well.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Dave! Great capture! Do you think the image would be stronger if two in the background weren't there (or were more muted) and your attention was just on the one in sharp focus?

Possibly, I have a shot like that coming up

I thought the arrangement of the three was interesting.

Thanks,

[Dave Humphries]

Mmm - not so sure! I like the arrangement of the three animals within the frame and think that the composition works well. A crop (of any sort) would alter the position of that front animal relative to the overall image and also alter its size relative to the overall image. And I'm not sure that would work as well.

Yes, it does work as it stands and why I didn't change it, my comment was based on a 'normal' desire not cut off the stag's antlers (on right) and the hooves below the subject.

Thanks for the feedback,

[ScoutR]

This is uncropped; I wish I had just a tad more space below and to right, but not too bad?

C&C welcome,

Not too bad at all Dave. I like the colours and the crop. It looks like he is ready to walk right out of the picture and in this case that's a good thing. Hard to explain, but similar to what you were talking about with one of my shots, and being able to get into the picture. If there had been more space at the bottom, then it's just a longshot of the deer, but framed the way it is it's almost like I could reach out and pet him or that he's walking over to me. I feel like I'm in the shot.

I also think the other stags in the background give it more context, and tell more of a story. For instance I imagine that the deer making eye contact is the gaurd and the others are totally relaxed knowing that he is on duty. Silly, I know, but their inclusion gives me more to think about and imagine when I look at the shot. Yes, the lone deer would look lovely, but then that's all it is.

If this isn't too far away, I'd love to see these guys model in the snow.

Wendy

[Dave Humphries]

Not too bad at all Dave. I like the colours and the crop. It looks like he is ready to walk right out of the picture and in this case that's a good thing. Hard to explain, but similar to what you were talking about with one of my shots, and being able to get into the picture. If there had been more space at the bottom, then it's just a longshot of the deer, but framed the way it is it's almost like I could reach out and pet him or that he's walking over to me. I feel like I'm in the shot.

I also think the other stags in the background give it more context, and tell more of a story. For instance I imagine that the deer making eye contact is the gaurd and the others are totally relaxed knowing that he is on duty. Silly, I know, but their inclusion gives me more to think about and imagine when I look at the shot. Yes, the lone deer would look lovely, but then that's all it is.

If this isn't too far away, I'd love to see these guys model in the snow.

Wendy

Thanks, Wendy,

The concensus (sp?) seems to be I got it right (almost accidentally)

The foreground stag advanced toward us several more steps, then he started nonchalantly feeding right in front of us

I'll add a couple more of this encounter here and start a new thread with other encounters/deer later.

Snow, nice idea, and one that occured while I was there, but ...
It isn't too far; I'd go into London on M4 for about 10 miles then head south through the urban narrow streets for another 5 or so. Easy in normal weather, if you pick time and day to avoid the traffic, but we're just not used to snow round here and getting there and back without having a low speed auto accident could be tricky - I'm OK, I have a 'kinda' 4x4, it's all the other muppets that are the problem

If I can, I will; assuming the park is open - it is hilly and they may not let you in, especially if the snow is more than 6" or drifted as you won't know where the roads are, nor the little foot high marker posts.

Cheers,