The Rut is Here! (pics included)

[mcary]

I was out searching for some waterfowl to photograph this evening when I stumbled across the honey hole of rutting buck activity. I saw three bucks within five minutes and plenty of does. Here's a series of shots I was able to capture.

The unsuspecting doe

She senses something in the distance

The approaching buck

The encounter

I would have a few tighter shots of the buck, but I wimped out and began to back away slowly as he approached (fearing a brow tine to the abdomen). My motion, even though extremely slow and deliberate, scared the buck off into the alder thicket. I'll be sure to return to this spot over the next couple of weeks and see if I can improve upon these images. Hope you enjoy. Mike

[Dbl]

Great series of shots Michael. I really like the shot of the buck looking at you. Excellent work, thanks for letting us view your photos.

[Jim Almquist]

Great shots mike and thanks for sharing.

[Mike89]

Mike, the pictures are great! Thanks for sharing.

Mike

[jonny_redhorse]

Absolutely wonderful captures!.....Mike!....i keep looking at em over a cup of coffee jonny

[Steve Foss]

Mike, those shots of the doe looking away and the buck looking at you are excellent. In the buck shot, the foreground bokeh makes a nice framing technique, as though it was vignetted in photoshop.

[mcary]

Thanks everyone. Steve, I'd like to take credit for the bokeh affect with the buck, but it was a matter of necessity. Much like the grouse shots I posted a while back, the light conditions were extremely low. I was shooting wide open with my 100-400 at an ISO of 800 with the exposure compensation set to a -2/3 and was still only getting shutter speeds between 1/40 of a second for the tighter shots to 1/160 for the wider shots (thank god for IS). I really regret moving when that buck was approaching. I could have gotten some very nice portraits if I had sat tight. I guess there's always next time.