Competition news

I recently entered a national wildlife competition and I'm pleased to announce that three of my images were selected as finalists. The three images were all entered into the mammals category and the subjects were red and fallow deer. In total there were eight images chosen as finalists in this category so I'm really pleased that three of those were my photographs.

All of the finalists can be viewed here:

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/photo/wildlife-photography010.html

Red deer silhouetted at dusk © Shared Earth Photography

 

Red deer roaring at dawn © Shared Earth Photography

Fallow deer peering around tree

© Shared Earth Photography

The season of colour

I can't remember the last time we had such a colourful autumn and now the trees are sadly looking more bare as each day passes. As I write this a light rain is whipped against my window by a bitingly cold November wind. The sky is a uniform and featureless slate grey but this doesn't always mean that the camera must be left in its bag until the sun once again shines.

An overcast day can actually bring out the colours of autumn woodland to their vibrant best and reduces glare on water. With this in mind I set off to Padley Gorge on a day similar to today. It is a beautiful spot and after the recent heavy rain the river was gushing over the mossy boulders. The gorge is also covered in ancient woodland including beech, oak, and sycamore, which offer a rich palette of autumn colours. I spent a very enjoyable morning with my camera and found it hard to walk more than a few paces without a photographic opportunity presenting itself.

Millstone at Padley Gorge © Shared Earth Photography

Burbage Brook, Padley Gorge 

© Shared Earth Photography

Burbage Brook, Padley Gorge

© Shared Earth Photography

The rut

Throughout October I made frequent visits to my local deer park to capture the red deer rut.

The red deer is Britain's largest land mammal and the rut takes place during early autumn, usually peaking sometime in October. During this time the mature stags 'roar' to attract females which form groups (known as harems) around the dominant stags. The stags will compete fiercely for control of the harems while they wait for the hinds to come into season. Rival stags will perform parallel walking to size each other up and a fight will often break out if the stags are evenly matched. The stags will not eat for the entire rut which can last for many weeks.

Here are a selection of my favourite photos taken during this years rut:

 Red deer stag roaring © Shared Earth Photography

 Juvenile red deer stag © Shared Earth Photography

Red deer stag © Shared Earth Photography

Red deer stag © Shared Earth Photography