KARL ANDRE TERBLANCHE

Bulletin 15

05 October 2006

Winter Approaches

As mentioned previously I ventured out to photograph red deer stags during the rut. This short period from late September to early October is the best time for capturing some action. Though the stags generally avoid fighting, they do a lot of bellowing, strutting and chasing younger males away from their harems. Drama and action! A combination that just can’t fail.

Well it can if the weather has any say in the matter. As is becoming the norm this year, as soon as I got to the location the sky greyed up and it started to rain. Light levels were low but I stayed put and took some pictures in the rain. I will be going back again during the rut until I get the desired images I want. Expect more to follow.

I got soaked trying to get this image. Unfortunately it is very hard to see the effect of the rain falling at this resolution on a computer screen. The printed result however is a very different story. Though not as dramatic and dark as my vultures in the rain, there is still something strangely captivating about this stag in the rain.

This stag is the star of the following images. He spent most of the afternoon looking over his harem of females, making a lot of noise while strutting up and down, and occasionally chasing off after some young male foolish enough to come to close.

The fallow deer in the foreground (feisty deer themselves) seemed to enjoy the antics of this stag as much as I did.

This is one of my favourite shots of the day. I purposefully chose a slow shutter speed, so that the background would blur as I panned along with the stag running past. It does illustrate the sole purpose of his existence during this period. His main concern is keeping other stags away from his females. Just look at the size of his neck.

Fights generally only occur between equally matched stags. In this case it’s just a show of power. The big powerful stag showing off his stuff and the youngster, though shaken, wanting to be just like him when he grows up.

This poor youngster spent most of the afternoon being chased back and forth by two fully-grown stags, one on either side of this clearing. He did eventually slip past one of the stags and disappear into the forest.

This guy looks like he is getting ready for a Siberian Winter, with his headdress on. Stags generally tend to pile foliage and grass on their antlers to make them appear bigger and more impressive. That is the theory at least. I do think this stag has taken it a bit to far.

During the rut, stags do a lot of roaring. This one was no exception. Unfortunately for him no females seemed to take any notice. Though in all fairness, my visit for this shoot was right at the beginning of the rut, and he no doubt has a sizeable harem gathered around him now.

I will probably post another deer shoot in the next couple of weeks. Until then take care.

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