Red Dear and Great Tit on his nose
While sitting in the dead of winter in a hide observing a group of Red Deer stags I couldn't help noticing the Greater Tits interacting with the Deer. Clea...
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While sitting in the dead of winter in a hide observing a group of Red Deer stags I couldn't help noticing the Greater Tits interacting with the Deer. Cleaning coats, removing insects and or seeds. You could see the stags enjoying it and this image just captured that...
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NIKON D7200
Aperture f/6.3 ISO 1600 Shutter 1/320 Focal Length 5000/10 
Bialowieza, Mazowieckie, PL
Jan, 2016Views
2548
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Awards
Winner in Best Bucks Photo Challenge
Member Selection Award
Peer Award
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
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bridgetrendall
January 22, 2016
I love this - the Stag looks like he is in heaven and I am sure the Great Tits are being rewarded too :)
Platinum
john_arsenault
January 31, 2016
i hope most people scrolling down the Viewbug.com "wall" notice the birds (Goldfinch?) on this deer! what a wonderful and rare portrait!
cevert
February 07, 2016
Wow, what a terrific capture! I love your gallery..your photos are amazing :D
Platinum
forcexxibigbad
July 22, 2016
Wow that is absolutely amazing. Beautiful bull you got a photo of there and the birds. . . I can't express how awesome this shot is.
andrevondeling
July 22, 2016
Thank you so much! it was worth the effort of freezing my ... off in a hide..
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PRO+
Platinum
andrevondeling
February 18, 2019
I took him a while to get there though...still can't believe I was able to hold my camera still..it ws so freakishly cold in the hide that day!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in Bialowieza forrest. From a hide one of the locals had on the edge of the forrest. As it was mid januari the animals of the forrest have a hard time finding enough food and I knew that the moment he fed his horses the deer would appear to snatch some of the hay. Obviously life in Eastern Poland is not easy for the locals. One of the ways this forester made some extra cash was ensuring the deer would come and collect the shed antlers later in winter. So he did spill some extra hay daily and rented out the hide to die-hards like me..and I was the first this winter!Time
Late afternoon.Lighting
Shooting dark animals in snowy conditions in a forrest obviously is one of the bigger challenges. So I do trust my camera to choose the right combination, I noticed the Great Tits flying around and new I had to have a high shutter speed to freeze it. To be honest after 2 1/2 hours sitting in freezing cold, not moving to not scare the deer froze my mind a bit as well. I still don't remember the settings..Equipment
Nikon D-7200 with the 200-500 Nikon 5.6 zoomlens, shot out of hand as the hide wasn't particularly well built and I couldn't place my tripod..Inspiration
Shooting popular animals always presents a challenge. There was a group of 6 stags in front of the hide and to be honest image wise it wasn't that interesting. Until I noticed the Tits flying around. It didn't take long to see that they where picking ticks and hair from the deer. So I decided to concentrate on them. At first trying to capture them flying around the deer. At first I was waiting for them to sit on the antlers but when this one landed on the nose of the stag I knew this was THE image of the afternoon.Editing
I dont do a lot of post processing. I am a bit old school in that. I try to make the best shot in the camera to avoid spending a lot of time behind a computer. So what I do is select in bridge and then edit in photoshop using the automatic tools and occasionally adjusting the lighting and white balans. This particular image was a bit under lit so I did raise the exposure a bit to give more detailIn my camera bag
I travel heavy. At the time of this image I was "in between" camera's waiting for the D-500 to come out. I had an older D-3s and the D-7200 in the bag. the Nikon 200-500 5,6. Sigma EX series 2,8 120-300 (now replaced by the EX 2,8 50-200, 50-150, 28-75, 10-20 and the macro 200. If I travel by car I also have the Sigmonster EX 5.6 300-800..cleaning kits, tripods, filters, filter holders, at least 3 sets of batteries and a zillion memory cards..Feedback
Study, study and study the animals you want to capture. Observe, look at them, find out about behaviour first. Secondly always find a local guide with a pasion for nature. Thirdly just do it. And most importantly take that step go outside and use your camera! If you want to go to Bialowieza and Bierbza in Eastern Poland don't hesitate to contact me for information!
