This is a great time of the year for nature photographers.
It is actually my favorite time to just go out early in the morning, camera in hand, and walk some trails or old logging roads.
Instead of being disappointed with no images to be found, I enjoy the brisk walk, hoping that around every bend in the trail I will get that perfect late fall image. Yes, I have to admit I do have a large stockpile of fall images, but in nature photography you’re only a shot away from that image of a lifetime. I can see that cover of National Geographic now!
I have heard a Great-horned owl in my neighborhood the last week or so, which to me is very exciting. The reason for my excitement is the fact that these Great-horned owls have been in our neighborhood for as long as I can remember. I’m older than dirt, so can you imagine how many broods these owls have produced over the years? Seldom seen, these night hunters go about their business right under our noses, with the stealth that is unimaginable. I have given up trying to find and photograph these magnificent birds long ago, but still hope to stumble upon one on a late fall night.
Late fall is my time to hunt deer. Yes, with a camera! When the whitetails are in the rut, I’ve found it surprisingly easy to catch them off guard. As a deer hunter, it is also the time between archery season and gun season that this happens. This can be a fun time for any nature photographer who’s trying to get a good whitetail deer shot. Through the years I’ve put many trophies on my wall, but that photographic paper doesn’t taste much like venison. The window of opportunity is small and you need some nice late fall days to photograph a beautiful wild whitetail deer. A good deal of luck is always a help.
As a photographer I often listen to conversations of hunters, mostly archery, telling of big bucks here and there. If the locations are familiar, I will go and scout the area either by foot or trail cameras. Trail cameras are great, and I’ve seen some fantastic images taken with them, but nothing beats meeting a big buck face to face, just before he bolts, with your camera pointed right at his nose!
Last year, just before the regular rifle season, I walked up to a deer feeding in a thick mess of goldenrods and scattered oaks. Early in the morning, with a light fog, I couldn’t tell if it was a buck or doe. I don’t believe he had my scent, but sensed a presence. It seemed like hours, but in reality, was only a few minutes, until he finally raised his head up and looked directly at me. Our eyes met for only a split second, and he was gone. In reality only one of our eyes met, because my other eye was in my viewfinder! That split second produced one of my best images of a monster buck that I’d ever taken, fog and all.
In the late fall of 2015 I came across a beautiful buck laying motionless in some goldenrods. The only thing giving him away was the gleaming white tips of his antlers. Lucky for me I spotted them before he bolted.
Whitetail deer are very smart, and have, especially in heavy hunted Pennsylvania, learned to survive even with enormous hunting pressure. With antler restrictions in place, bucks seem to be growing a bit older, producing trophy racks. Just look at the hunting section of your local newspaper. This restriction has certainly been noticed by this photographer in the last few years, giving me a new interest in hunting deer with a camera. Take an early morning walk in the woods with your camera. You might get a trophy of a lifetime!
Until my next adventure…
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Questions or wildlife sightings, email Rocky at rocky.holland1@verizon.net.
