Lexx at the fish pond, Newcastle, Texas
This is the small fish pond about 200 feet behind my house that I'm fixing up in Newcastle, Texas. Both are within the fenced in area of the property so all sorts of Fallow Deer photo opportunities pop up quite often. I had been doing some ceiling work in what will eventually be a finished kitchen when I noticed that the sun was getting close to setting... casting long shadows and the sky was bright blue. My camera bag was handy so I quit working for the day and decided to try to get some deer reflection images, taking advantage of the sweet lighting. The deer often move to the pond to drink very late in the day and if I position myself with the sun more or less behind me I can sometimes get some good reflection shots, especially with a bright blue sky. Here Lexx is getting a drink and his companions weren't quite close enough to get in the image, which was exactly what I wanted... a photo of JUST Lexx. A few seconds after I snapped this a dozen does, fawns, and juvenile "spike" bucks moved into the area from the left. "Mob" photos can be great, but this photo of Lexx is the one I like the best from this particular occasion.
Lexx and four other big bucks were killed several years later over a three week period by a poacher. After we lost the first one several motion-activated game cameras were set up, one capturing a clear photo late one night of the perp standing beside my back porch all dressed in black, with a scope sighted cross-bow. Eventually he was caught and because he was in hot water for much more serious offenses, our situation was placed "on the back burner". We've had no trouble in the eight years that have passed since then, but when some of the bucks get really nice large racks, we can't help thinking back to that incident.
Taken with a Nikon D40, AF-S 18-200mm Nikkor.
DSC-7099L
Lexx at the fish pond, Newcastle, Texas
This is the small fish pond about 200 feet behind my house that I'm fixing up in Newcastle, Texas. Both are within the fenced in area of the property so all sorts of Fallow Deer photo opportunities pop up quite often. I had been doing some ceiling work in what will eventually be a finished kitchen when I noticed that the sun was getting close to setting... casting long shadows and the sky was bright blue. My camera bag was handy so I quit working for the day and decided to try to get some deer reflection images, taking advantage of the sweet lighting. The deer often move to the pond to drink very late in the day and if I position myself with the sun more or less behind me I can sometimes get some good reflection shots, especially with a bright blue sky. Here Lexx is getting a drink and his companions weren't quite close enough to get in the image, which was exactly what I wanted... a photo of JUST Lexx. A few seconds after I snapped this a dozen does, fawns, and juvenile "spike" bucks moved into the area from the left. "Mob" photos can be great, but this photo of Lexx is the one I like the best from this particular occasion.
Lexx and four other big bucks were killed several years later over a three week period by a poacher. After we lost the first one several motion-activated game cameras were set up, one capturing a clear photo late one night of the perp standing beside my back porch all dressed in black, with a scope sighted cross-bow. Eventually he was caught and because he was in hot water for much more serious offenses, our situation was placed "on the back burner". We've had no trouble in the eight years that have passed since then, but when some of the bucks get really nice large racks, we can't help thinking back to that incident.
Taken with a Nikon D40, AF-S 18-200mm Nikkor.
DSC-7099L