Alberta Buck Pics

hoofsandhorns · Nov 30, 2004

My wife and I went out on the weekend to get a few more muley photos. We climbed a little ways up the side of this mountain to a bench overlooking the Waterton valley below where we found a few small bucks with some does.
It turned out to be a real great day even though we didn't find any real big bucks. I took a number of photos and thought I'd share a few of them with you.

Hope you enjoy.
Rod

FamilyMan · Nov 30, 2004

Awesome background on the first, second, and espically last pics. Thanks for sharing.

Mark

nbjbhunterman · Nov 30, 2004

Rod,

I am really enjoying your pics. Keep them coming. It makes my day go by faster and gets me more motivated for hunting deer next year.

NBJB

littlefoot · Nov 30, 2004

very nice, rod....and thank you

gonehunting · Nov 30, 2004

nice pictures, those should be some great bucks next year

antlerquest · Nov 30, 2004

Rod are those your pets??????
great photographs thanks so much, you are truly an amazing photographer.
AQ.

TFinalshot · Dec 1, 2004

Rod, I was up there over the weekend too. I did see the same deer but could not find the larger deer that have been hanging around the area for the past month. Do you know what happend to them? They must have all headed back into brush aye?

If you like send me a PM. I sent you one already.

Finalshot

Hornseeker · Dec 1, 2004

Very Nice H&H! Thanks!

berto · Dec 1, 2004

rod,

thanks so much for the eye candy. very well done.

SneakAttack · Dec 1, 2004

I have a question for you boys: Are these maybe the deer that Geist spent so much time with, same area, same herd? Why are they so approachable. I'm just amazed at the closeness of your photos Rod. Thanks for sharing the fruits of your labor.

'It's all about the gut pile'

DeerKing · Dec 2, 2004

Great photos as always. I like the blue sky shots.

AntlerQuest Hunt Consulting

TFinalshot · Dec 2, 2004

I can only speak for myself, but the deer in this area are more tolerant because they have to be and are not hunted (mostly) they need to spend some of their life right where people decided to put a town, so they have adapted more tolerant habits. That being said, I have shot hundreds of photographs of those deer and I use nothing less than a 400 mm f/4 or a 600mm lens ? that's 12 power magnification! Couple that with powerful computers and you can make remarkable images! I never get as physically close as some people. I just use long-glass. If you approach those deer too close they get visibly and noticeably disturbed but almost always tolerate your presence. A lot of real good wildlife images are captured in places where animals are more tolerant of human trespass - I'm not saying they are captive, only that the animals are more habituated to humans, or have to live in areas that are accessible by humans during the winter. There are a lot of mule deer living in such areas now that people have decided to live on their winter range or make parks and reserves out of their homes.

As far as Geist, I'm not sure but I'll bet he's done some research on the deer of waterton.

Finalshot.

hoofsandhorns · Dec 2, 2004

Finalshot has pretty much summed it up when it comes to a lot of the deer that I photograph. I've been photographing these deer for over 20 years now so I've gotten to know when, where and what I can or can't do to get some decent photos. Living here year round gives me that advantage.
There's no doubt they're wild deer but some of them have become more habituated to people especially some of the resident bucks. The migrant deer that travel through this area however can be a lot harder to photograph.

I sure don't want anyone to think I have some special talent, tricks or methods that make me any more special than the next guy when it comes to photographing these deer. I simply take advantage of my good fortune to live where I do and the access to an abundance of scenery and wildlife so I can share it with some of you. So as long as most of you enjoy the photos I will continue to post a few.

I also believe the deer in this region were included in some of Geists work along with deer through out the eastern slopes of the Rockies and prairies here in Alberta.
Rod

PS Finalshot. I thought you had sent me an e-mail but hadn't revieved anything yet. Perhaps you want to try again if it's important. Thanks