Deer Family
Jul, 2016Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This is a composite of two photos I took. The background forest photo was taken in Bull Run park in Virginia. It was beautifully lit and looked like a little fairy home to me. The Deer and her fawn were visitors in my own backyard (also in Virginia). The mama was a frequent visitor and one day, she brought her baby. The baby spent much of her time bouncing and running about, but I was able to capture a few special moments between the two and this image is one of those.Time
The photo of the deer was taken around 2pm in the summer. Of course the visit was unexpected, so I quickly grabbed my camera and ran back and forth to every window that faced my backyard and snapped as many photos as I could. The mama and deer stayed in my backyard for a good 20 minutes! I once made eye contact with the mama, who knew I was taking pictures and yet she allowed it. The background photo was taken in the late afternoon, also early summer.Lighting
Although the deer photo was taken in the light of the mid-afternoon sun, the background was taken in the late afternoon in lush shade. I wanted the image to match the lighting of the forest photo to give it a soft, peaceful feel. I hope I accomplished that feeling.Equipment
For both photos, I used my Canon SL1. The lens for the forest photo is a 50mm Pentax Super Takumar 50mm f1.4, and the lens for the deer photo was a Canon 75-300mm.Inspiration
I am inspired by what I feel are 'magical' places. The forest scene to me, felt very peaceful and special. It was just a lovely spot and the hole in the tree reminded me of a magical door. As an animal lover, I am immensely inspired by all animals. I get such a thrill when I see any animal and I have my camera! This photo was so inspiring to me because the mama deer who visited our backyard from time to time, decided it was a safe place to bring her baby! And she let her baby run about! It was so amazing seeing that baby dart around my backyard! I felt so honored that the mama would bring her baby to my house and I was excited to capture those moments.Editing
Yes I did editing for both photos. For the background forest photo, I pumped up the color a bit and added the soft light coming in through the background trees. Of course the photo is a composite so that involved blending both pictures together with lighting. I darkened the deer a bit so they would match the lighting of the forest as well. I also had to resize them so the perspective was correct.In my camera bag
Right now, I usually just walk around with my Canon SL1 and my 15-85 zoom lens. It's a great walk-around lens that lets me take some pretty decent macro shots as well. But if I have my bag with me, I will have my Pentax Super Takumar 50mm f1.4 lens. I love the rich colors and beautiful bokeh it creates.Feedback
I think to capture moments like this, you have to be prepared. Always have your camera with you and also be prepared to do some waiting if necessary, especially for wildlife photos. I learned from this photo that if I wanted to capture great animal photos, I needed to have a telephoto lens with me at all times. But most of all, as photographers, we need to keep our eyes open to the world around us. Often something unexpected and magical happens and we need to be ready to capture those moments.
