Images From The Whitetail Rut

Mature Whitetail Buck

The area where I do most of my wildlife photography is home to a substantial herd of whitetail deer, but it is not usually good summer range for the bachelor groups of mature bucks. Most of the deer are the does and fawns and the yearling and occasional two year old bucks that are still traveling with the family groups.

In many years buck sighting pick up in early October and the full-blown  rut gets underway during the last week.  But this year things were very slow and I became impatient as it seemed the rut would never start. That changed in the middle of last week and I have been able to photograph several bucks since then and will share some images  of this activity today.

Photos of bucks lip-curling as they search for does in heat often make dramatic photographs. The buck in the photo below tried to breed a doe shortly after the photo was taken, but she ran from him.

Lip-curl

Scenting For Does

Whitetail bucks do have serious fights from time to time, but what I usually capture are only desultory sparring matches, which are not violent, but still make for good photo opportunities.

Sparring Match

Other favorite photo opportunities are to capture them making scrapes, checking their scrape lines, and chasing does.

Checking A Scrape

6 Point Erupts From Woods After Doe

Chasing Does

Although the rut will soon peak if it has not all ready, good activity should continue for the next two weeks before it comes to a crashing end because of rifle deer season.

Cameras used were the 5D MK III and the Canon 7D Mark II.  while the lenses were the Canon 300mm f2.8 and the Canon 600mm F4.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Images From The 2014 Whitetail Rut and Camera Thoughts

It has been over three weeks since this blog was last updated and that has not happened since I began blogging in 2007.  This blog has always been issues oriented, but I find it increasingly difficult to write about this type of subject matter.  It is amazing how time consuming it can be just to write a short article about a controversial subject when one is striving for accuracy and objectivity.  With that in mind, I will limit today's post to sharing some photos from the recent whitetail rut and some thoughts on cameras for stills and video.

With all the talk of the introduction of the 7D MK II I decided to get the old 7D out of mothballs and use it for some long range work this autumn. It turned out that it  and the 600mm was an excellent choice to photograph this buck which was about 125 yards away.

Eight-Point: Canon 7D-Canon 600mm F4.0 IS L-ISO 400-1/2000 Sec. F 5.0

The buck had followed a doe into the meadow and I captured them both in another frame.

Eight-Point Buck and Doe: Canon 7D-Canon 600mm F4.0 IS L-ISO 400-1/2000 Sec. F 5.0

Of course it is always good to capture wildlife other than whitetails and an encounter with Eastern Wild Turkey gobblers is a rewarding experience and no before you ask I wasn't THAT close to the bird. The old 7D can stand up to severe cropping as long as the light is good and it is focused accurately.

Wild Turkey Gobbler: Canon 7D-Canon 600mm F4.0 IS L-ISO 400-1/2000 Sec. F 5.0

Why, you might ask have I even mentioned the 7D MK II when I have not even seen one yet, let alone used it?

I am mostly a video oriented person, but I love still photography also. Beginning in 1997 I used high-end prosumer Canon camcorders such as the L2, XL-1s, and XL-H1, but with the introduction of video in dslrs such as the Canon 7D, T3i, and 70D I found myself shooting more and more of my video with these cameras, although their video quality left something to be desired in many cases.  I saw footage from a Panasonic GH2 in 2012 and it was much sharper than that of the 7D.  This began a period of shooting video with both Canon and Panasonic cameras.  With the advent of the 4K Panasonic GH-4 I have shifted entirely to the Panasonics for video and recently acquired a fixed lens Panasonic FZ-1000 as a secondary camera to use when the GH-4 has a big telephoto mounted on it.  The downside is that the GH-4 is not as good as the old Canon 7D for still photography and the the FZ-1000 is a good step behind the GH-4.

Frosty Morning Buck: Panasonic FZ-1000-ISO 1000-1/100 sec. F 4.0

The thing about the small sensor cameras for still photography is that their image may look very sharp at a glance, but if one zooms in to 100% or higher in Photoshop it is  noticeable that they do not have the fine detail of the larger sensor cameras. With that being said, they are perfectly usable for many purposes including taking images for publication and they have the advantage of being very small  and portable in comparison to the Canons with the big prime lenses.

Now back to the 7D Mark II-- At this point I would not buy one for the video features as there is no flip-finder and no 4K video for starters, but this does not detract from its' appeal as a still camera.  I can understand why Canon does not put a flip LCD on the pro-level still cameras, but it is severely crippling to shoot video without one unless you use an external monitor and as of yet external monitors do not work nearly as well on the Canons as they do with the Panasonics. The main attraction of the 7D MK II to me would be low light performance comparable to that of the 5D MK III. Another point to consider is that technically an un-cropped image of distant wildlife from a 7D MK II sensor should have better detail than a 5D MK III cropped to the same perspective. I do not know, as I have not tried a 7D MK II, but after extensive use of the 70D and original 7D  I still cannot make up my mind if it is really worth using a crop sensor for stills over cropping the 5D MK III image more in Photoshop.

In closing I wish to emphasize that I discuss only Canon and Panasonic cameras here as those are the only cameras I own and  have experience with.  As to the 7D MK II, I look forward to seeing results from this camera and reading users experiences.  At this point it looks like I will not be an early adopter, and perhaps may never acquire one, but who knows?  It may become my favorite wildlife still camera.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Whitetail Rut Explodes

Mature 8 Point Lip-Curls: Canon 7D-Canon 600mm f4-ISO 400-1/400 Sec. f 5.0

The rut of the Whitetail Deer is now going full steam and I am seeing quite a few bucks while photographing in Pennsylvania and Maryland.  Unfortunately one of my favorite whitetail photography spots, Shenandoah National Park in Virginia,  has been ruined temporarily by the CWD study, which resulted in most of the mature bucks being fitted with collars.  The loss may be permanent with the specter of herd reduction looming on the horizon.  As a result most of the bucks I am photographing are smaller than the better ones that could be found at SNP in the past.

Photographing and filming the bucks as they check the scrape lines, and chase the does has been one of my favorite outdoor activities for many years.

Mature 8 Point At Scrape: Canon 7D-Canon 600mm f4-ISO 400-1/1250 Sec. f  4.5

I have been using the 7D a lot lately after a long period of letting it gather dust..  I now use the noise reduction tools in Photoshop CS6 Camera Raw  and Adobe CC rather than noise ninja and I have found that the 7D's low light performance is not as bad as I had thought, although it is not as good as the 5D MK III in that respect.  I now feel comfortable using it at ISO 800 and 1000 and will use 1600 in a pinch.  Some will want to know why I am using the 7D instead of my 70D.  The long and short is that I am using the 70D primarily for video as its' auto focus system works very good for video, while the 7Ds' does not.  I usually shoot with both cameras set up on their respective tripods and the 7D is used on the 600mm to take advantage of long range shots.  I do often use the 5D MK III in poor light or when the animals get closer and it is not hard to shift between the 7D and 5D MK III on the 600mm F4, but it is a hassle to tear the video rig down to use the 70D on the 600mm.  When the 7D is on the 600mm F4, I usually keep the 5D MK III handy with a smaller lens such as the 70-200mm IS II  mounted to handle the closer shots and at times I even use the 300mm f2.8.  This rig is used hand held unless conditions are such that I decide to dismount the 600mm and go with a smaller lens for my shooting and want the added stability of the tripod.

The next two shots were taken hand hand held with the MK III and the 70-200mm.  I still like to use a tripod when possible, but lenses such as the 70-200mm f2.8 L do work well hand held when one uses good shooting technique. I find that I get a high percentage of sharp shots while doing so, especially when using the 5D MK III.

 8 Point Chasing Doe: Canon 5D MK III-Canon  70-200mm f2.8  IS II@200mm-ISO 400-1/1600 Sec. f  5.0

 8 Point Chasing Doe: Canon 5D MK III-Canon  70-200mm f2.8  IS II@200mm-ISO 200-1/640 Sec. f  5.0

The rut should continue for at least two more weeks with some periods being more active than others, but the activity will crash with the opening of rifle deer season on the Monday after Thanksgiving if it does not wind down on its' own accord before.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

The Leaves Change Color As The Whitetail Rut Begins

Many Pennsylvania nature photographers have commented that fall colors have not been as spectacular this year as usual and I have found that to be true here in the south-central portion of the state as well.  With that being said I did capture a decent fall scene last Thursday.  Wanting to travel light, I carried only the Panasonic GH3 and tripod with the 14-140mm Lumix lens mounted.  I also carried the 100-300mm Lumix in case I encountered wildlife.

Fall Colors: Panasonic GH3-Lumix 14-140mm@17mm- ISO 200-1/100sec. f 11.0

It seems that the GH3 does quite well as a still camera at the lower ISO settings and it is very easy to carry, but with that being said I still like to use the Canons for most of my still photography.

I have seen quite a bit of wildlife as well in the past few weeks.  One of the most memorable occasions was when I was watching a distant flock of gobblers in a portion of a meadow that was dry enough for the farmer to mow this summer. Since the fall rains it is now a wetlands and  some of the gobblers were drinking from the pools of water among the grass. The image is severely cropped to give a more dramatic composition.

Gobbler Drinking: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm f 4.0-ISO 400-1/250sec. f 8.0

The whitetail deer rut was early last year and I had seen a lot of bucks chasing does by the middle of October, but things have really been slow this year and there has been little signs of the rut until lately.  I have noticed that in the last few days the young bucks that are still traveling with the family groups are showing rutting behavior.  It is amusing to watch these little fellows acting aggressive.

Yearling Buck Performs lip-curl: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm f 4.0-ISO 400-1/320sec. f  4.5

On October 25th I saw the first buck chasing a doe.  I did film the chasing with the Panasonic, but the stills I got with the 5D MK III and the 600mm were only portrait shots.  This was a buck I had not seen before and is either a larger than usual (for this area) yearling or is a small 2 year old.

6 Point Buck Pauses From Chasing Doe: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm f 4.0-ISO 3200-1/200sec. f  4.0

The light level was low enough that it was good to have the MK III's excellent high ISO capability.  I was hidden behind a hay bale, but the buck still caught the movement as I switched from the video camera to the still camera. He soon lost interest in me and began chasing the doe again.

6 Point Buck: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm f 4.0-ISO 3200-1/160sec. f  4.0

He evidently got the leaves in his right antler from horning the ground, which is something I would liked to have seen and recorded.

I enjoy photographing almost any species I can find, but I have been fascinated with the whitetail deer since a young age and they are my favorite species to film and photograph.  Each year I especially look forward to filming the excitement of the fall rut when bucks that are ordinarily shy and hard to see are suddenly everywhere running about after the does.  It will be interesting to see what buck sightings the next few weeks bring.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Autumn Colors and Rutting Whitetails

The autumn colors are slowly reaching their peak here in Southcentral Pennsylvania.  This is not one of the most colorful fawns I can remember, but it is good. At first the colors were reserved and subtle as the scene below, taken late in the evening on September 30th illustrates.

Early Autumn: Canon 5D MK III 24-105L @ 35mm-  ISO 1000-1/40 sec. f4

Autumn color was nearing its' peak by mid-October, so I spent some time concentrating on taking scenic shots.  Unfortunately early morning and evening is the best time for photographing both scenery and whitetail bucks, so I usually end up picking the deer over the scenery.  I would preferred to have taken the following shots under a bit different lighting conditions, but still I think they capture the essence of autumn to an acceptable degree.  Woodland steams and cornfields are an integral part of the autumn landscape here in Fulton County. A circular polarizer was used on the second and third shots, which enhanced the richness of the colors.

Autumn Glory: Canon 5D MK III 17-40L @ 17mm-  ISO 100-1/50 sec. f8

Autumn Cornfield: Canon 5D MK III 24-105L 4535mm-  ISO 100-1/100 sec. f8

This is the backdrop against, which the bucks are chasing does during the early stages of the whitetail rut. The rut began early this year and most days yield one or more buck sightings, but the tempo should pick up even more in the next few weeks.

Whitetail Buck in Hot Pursuit of Doe: Canon 5D MK III 500mm F4L-  ISO 1600-1/640 sec. f4

Whitetail Buck Pauses From Chasing Doe: Canon 5D MK III 500mm F4L-  ISO 1600-1/800 sec. f4

Soon the leaves will be gone and the whitetail rut will be at its' peak and then all to soon fall we be over, and once again we will face the bitter winter months.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

More Whitetail Rut Photos-The Lip-Curl

It is quite common to see whitetail bucks lip-curling throughout the autumn months.  This behavior is associated with breeding activity and is most often seen during the peak of the rut.  It is commonly believed that the lip-curl is utilized to determine if a doe is in estrus. 

8 Point Buck Determines If Doe Is In Estrus

At one time I would have thought that the buck in the photo above was either an extra-large  1 1/2 yr. old buck or a small 2 1/2 yr old, but based on my extensive experience with Pennsylvania whitetails, I would not be surprised if this buck is 3 1/2  or more years old, although 2 1/2  years is more likely.

In the next photo a buck with a deformed left antler is captured doing the lip-curl also.  This buck is likely in the same age range.  The most likely cause of the deformed antler is that the antler was injured while in velvet, or that the pedicle was broken loose from the skull in a fight during the previous autumn.  This is one of the most vocal bucks I have encountered.  He frequently makes large resounding bleats while pursuing does.  Even with my severely damaged hearing, it is possible to hear him plainly at well over 100 yards away.

Buck With Damaged Antler

Lip-curling is not confined to bucks with antlers.  Even the 6 month old button bucks get in on the action too.

Young Bucks Lip-Curl Too!

The rut is quickly winding down, and the beginning of the Pennsylvania rifle deer season on Monday will bring much of the activity to a halt, but even if there were no season in the offing, activity would decline very quickly in the next few weeks.

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

PA Whitetail Rut Peaks As Rifle Season Slated To Begin Next Monday

If one is seriously interested in the whitetail deer, there is something distinctly unique about this week here in Pennsylvania   For  hunters there is the anticipation of the coming season, which is coupled with preparations for the hunt such as sighting-in rifles and scouting.

Interest In Whitetail Bucks Is High In Late November

For the serious whitetail photographer and student of whitetail behavior this is a time of mixed feelings as rutting activity is often exceptional--especially during the early part of Thanksgiving week, but the downside is that it is all about to end with the onset of rifle deer season next week.  In fact activity patterns will change somewhat earlier with the great increase in human activity in deer country as hunting camps fill up over the week end, and hunters pursue small game and scout for deer.  All of this activity serves to put somewhat of a damper on the proceedings and I can never recall seeing intense rutting activity on the Saturday or Sunday before season.

As most of the does are bred by now, it is common to find several bucks pursuing one hot doe.  The inexperienced who is scouting for a spot to hunt whitetails, often sees such a situation such as this and makes the mistaken assumption that this is where the bucks are usually found, and so decides to spend the first day of season in this spot.  Of course it may be a good spot and they may harvest a buck, but it is very likely that most of the bucks will be somewhere else.  They were only there that day because a hot doe was there.

Buck In Hot Pursuit Of Doe

At this time my thoughts always wander back to my years as a Deputy Wildlife Conservation Officer for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.  In my younger days we worked what we referred to as "the marathon".  This mostly involved working night patrol and looking for jack-lighters as locating deer by artificial light at night and shooting them illegally was one of the more serious and most common offenses in our area.  The marathon often began on the Friday night before Thanksgiving week and continued until the Sunday night before season.  This usually involved going to work shortly after dark and staying out until the early morning hours.

Bucks Attract Much Attention, Both Legal And Illegal

Sometimes one was still working long after dawn the next morning, if they encountered a serious offense that took hours to investigate and bring to closure. But it was more likely that one was in bed by 3:00 a.m. or 4:00 a.m., and then it was back out at dawn for some small game hunting, or as my priorities changed--wildlife photography.  Mid-day was spent sleeping and then the process was repeated all over again on the following night.  As we grew older this schedule was curtailed somewhat, but even in our last year of working, it was a grueling time. At one time there was little likelihood that one would make it through this period without encountering a serious offense and often there were several to deal with.

Today, the law enforcement is a thing of the past, but I am still out there most days, documenting the whitetail behavior and keeping a close eye on the welfare of the local whitetail herd.  It is always a special thrill to catch a whitetail in the perfect pose--even though the subject may not be a large buck.

Whitetail Buck Performs Lip-curl

I probably spend more time afield in one week than most do in a year, but I have not hunted deer or any other species since about 1998 preferring to photograph and study the wildlife instead.  If you choose to hunt this year, I do hope that you will hunt in a legal and ethical manner. Be sure to read the Pennsylvania Hunting and Trapping Digest , which comes with your hunting license and has a listing of hunting seasons and a summary of the game laws. Be aware that in some areas the  first five days of season are for antlered deer only, while in other areas it is still a concurrent buck and doe season.

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Whitetail Rut Peaks In PA and SNP

In our area of Pennsylvania, the whitetail rut traditionally peaks around November 12th, and this year is no exception.  This time frame also seems to apply to the whitetails in Shenandoah National Park as well.  Once the Pennsylvania elk rut and elk season is over, I devote most of my time to observing and documenting the local whitetail herd, as well as making frequent trips to SNP.

Shenandoah 9 Point

 Many ask why one goes to SNP when they are a lot of deer in Pennsylvania--at least in spots (a subject of never ending and often bitter controversy).  The long and short of it is that there are few if any areas in Pennsylvania, that are  accessible to the public, where  one can view and photograph whitetails in a setting where the deer are not concerned about human presence, or where the bucks live to reach full maturity. At one time Gettysburg Battlefield was one such spot and I have heard that Valley Forge has or had a similar situation, but a dramatic herd reduction production program was applied to the Gettysburg deer and there was talk of implementing one at Valley Forge as well--not sure if this has happened yet or not.

Bucks appear with increasing frequency as October drifts into early November.  I have noticed that in Pennsylvania, many are animals that have spent the summer elsewhere, and they appear to check on the local doe herd once the rut begins.  A few remain for the duration of the rut, but most only appear for a day or so and then move on.

Whitetail Buck Checks Herd For Doe In Estrus

Mature Doe: The Object Of The Buck's Attention

In SNP there are several bucks that stay near the meadow at Big Meadows, most if not all of the year.  One may photograph these animals from the time the antlers start to grow in the spring, through the summer months, and on throughout the rut, although at times some abruptly vanish when they stray on nearby private land where hunting is permitted, or are killed by poachers who sometimes boldly enter the park to kill wildlife.

Mature Shenandoah Buck Chasing Doe

The SNP bucks posted today are ones that seem to spend most of their life around the Big Meadows complex.  The one above is a wide eight-point, which has been photographed by most who travel to SNP. This fall was one of the best in recent memory at the park, but I happened to be in the wrong place in the wrong time to capture a few of the biggest bucks.  Also I concentrated on video as usual and so much of my best material is captured on that.

The Canon 100-400mm L IS lens is now my favorite DSLR video lens for wildlife at mid to moderately long ranges when light conditions permit its' use, and the 70-200mm F 2.8 is the lens of choice in early morning and late evening.  For stills the 300mm F2.8 is now my favorite, with the 70-200mm F 2.8 being a close second.  I can nail spot-on focus much better with either of these lenses than with the 500mm F4.  The 100-400mm focuses extremely well, but I like the larger apertures of the other lenses and the resulting better control of depth of field and ability to shoot in lower light.  The 500mm F4 is going back to Canon after the fall photography is over to have the focusing system checked out.  I hope this solves the problem, but I am not overly optimistic.

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard HIll.

Late October Whitetails

Yesterday my brother Coy of Country Captures and I traveled to Shenandoah National Park for a morning of wildlife photography, with our primary objective being to photograph whitetail bucks, although we welcomed any photographic opportunity that might present itself.

It was cold and clear atop the mountain with a brutal wind and with these conditions it seemed likely that the whitetail rut was booming.  We saw a few medium-size bucks in the meadow and laid out a plan to photograph the most likely subjects.  Surprisingly the bucks had little to no interest in the does and spent most of the time feeding, but we were lucky enough to capture some outstanding interaction between two of the bucks.  I concentrated on taking video as usual and today the tool of choice was the Rebel T3i with the 70-200mm F 2.8 L.  The best of the action was captured on video, but I did pause at one point and take a few still frames.  For better photos of this encounter visit Coy at Country Captures.

Whitetail Bucks Interact

It is also possible to capture stills from the video recording in an editing program after the fact, but since HD video has only 2 mega-pixels of resolution the photos suffer in comparison to ones taken in still mode where the entire resolution of the sensor is utilized.  That being said, photos captured in this way still work reasonably well for publishing on the internet, and other uses where one doesn't need a large size, razor sharp image.

Still Capture From T3i Video

 All the while I was carrying the Canon 7D with 300mm F2.8 over my shoulder and at one point switched cameras and took several frames with this rig, but by this time the exciting interaction was over.

Whitetail Buck Browses At Shenandoah National Park

The bucks did not linger long in the meadow and by late morning we were headed back toward Thornton Gap and home.  On the way we encountered the largest buck of the trip.  We first saw him feeding by the roadside, but he soon crossed into the woods, which gave an excellent background The late morning light was harsh making for difficult photographic conditions..  This buck was interested in the does, and performed some classic rutting activity by lowering his head and chasing them and then pausing to perform the lip-curl.

Whitetail Buck Performs Lip-Curl

We were back in Pennsylvania by mid-afternoon and that evening I encountered the largest Pennsylvania buck of the autumn to date.  While not exceptional, this is a very decent buck for our area.  Since the distance was 150 yards or more, I was using the T3i with the 100-400mm lens with the 3X crop factor engaged to record the animal to video.  The following photograph is a still capture from that video.

Pennsylvania Eight-Point

This buck was actively looking for a receptive doe, but none were to be found and he eventually moved on, bringing a fitting conclusion to an excellent day afield.

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Camaera Critters: Sklyine Whitetails

Being an obsessive-compulsive whitetail deer photographer, and with the whitetail rutting season in full swing, my main photographic subject is of course the whitetail deer. Last week Billie Cromwell and I were in Shenandoah National Park from dawn Monday morning until mid-day on Wednesday. It was a successful trip.

After sunrise on Tuesday morning we found a beautiful ten-point buck in the strip of grass between Skyline Drive and The Byrd Visitor Center.

Canon 40-D: 100-400mmL

"Salty" and his wife were there for a morning photographic shoot and arrived at a point in time when the buck crossed into the meadow after a doe and then followed her back to his original spot. Salty arrived on the scene at this point and I captured the buck crossing the road between us.

Canon 40-D: 100-400mmL

The buck remained in the area for some time before following the doe into the nearby woodlands.

Canon 40-D: 100-400mmL

Here in Pennsylvania, whitetail buck photography will come to a screeching halt on the Monday after Thanksgiving week, which is the first day of a two-week rifle deer season. In our area both antlered and antlerless deer may be hunted with the appropriate tags, but in some parts of the state the season will be for bucks only until the first Saturday in December, at which time antlerless deer will be legal too.

There is no hunting in Shenandoah National Park so these bucks are safe unless they stray from the park, but private property is very close in many areas and it seems likely that many bucks are taken each year when they leave park land. In addition, poaching is a problem within the park, but a dedicated Ranger force keeps close watch.

For more Camera Critters photos, click Here!