Burned Out

Anybody who has been out scouting can see that we photographed these bucks a while ago.  This particular day we had been cruising around looking for deer and had been having little to no success.  We were commenting on all the great flowers and discussing how it would make a great photo if we could catch a buck standing amongst some of the great color.  These discussions only made me more disappointed with the day.  It wasn’t until we were right at optimum photographing light that my brother locked up the brakes and started pointing hurriedly into the trees.  There, feeding in the flowers, were several nice bucks.  I immediately jumped out and started trying to snap some pictures.  Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong.  The camera settings were wrong, the camera wouldn’t go on the tripod, the lens had got dusty, and the deer wouldn’tstay in an opening long enough to compose a shot.  Needless to say the deer fed off away and over a hill where we could no longer see them and we were left frustratedly trying to figure what all had gone wrong.  Our frustration level was at its peak as we contemplated what to do next.  With light fading we devised a plan to try and get close.  It was not the best plan, but its the only one that would work with the fading light.  We knew getting close with the time we had was a long shot but with camera in hand we headed out. 

From the apex of a small hill we could see that the biggest and the second biggest bucks had bedded under a burnt out log and we thought if we could get around behind the log and slowly sneak in on them that way we may have a chance.  The unknown was the smallest of the bucks, we had no idea where he was and we knew we could jump him at any time and that would be the end of the sneak and the day.  We hastily made our way to a point we could approach the log from the back and started a painstakingly slow stalk.  With the sun dropping and with it the light, we crested a small hill that allowed us to see the log the deer were bedded under.  As we as we krept closer the back side of the log we could see the antlers of the bigger buck sticking up over the log.  It was a thrill to put a sneak on, always knowing that the buck was still there.  As we got closer and closer our smiles grew and grew.  Once we were about 20 yards away I set up the tripod and camera and tested the lighting.  Once this was complete I signaled my brother to move closer and see if he could stand the deer up without startling them out of the area. 

It only took several minutes for my brother to be within 5 feet of touching the deers antlers.  Here he stopped and started trying to make any little noise he could to stand the deer up.  The plan worked perfectly, we watched as the bigger bucks antlers started turning from side to side trying to figure out what was up.  After a few seconds both bucks stood up and began to look around.  I started snapping photos as my brother lay hidden on the other side of the log, concealed from their searching gaze.  I remember wishing I had a smaller lens with me to get the deer looking right over my brother who was hiding mere feet from them.  We were super excited with the way the photos turned out.  The bucks aren’t necessarily wall hangers but the colors are nice and even small bucks are better than nothing on a long day of scouting around.

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