The one benefit of the advent of Rita the Troll has been that I have had to climb higher to find the animals. As a result, my legs are getting stronger and I’m in the best physical condition that I’ve attained in years. I’m almost ready for the snowshoe season!
A Lone Buck
It was unseasonably warm this morning and I knew that my mountain would already be occupied from sunrise on, by the constant onslaught of troll worshipers. So I took the back way around the mountain and climbed to the summit of Big Grouse Mountain instead of my old destination of the closer and easier Little Grouse Mountain.
At the summit I spotted a lone buck mule deer making his way across a high ridge. I set my Canon R7 to the C2 custom function that I have created especially for photographing deer. As it turns out the R7 is not particularly good at identifying the eye of a deer and the elusive animals are often hiding in the dense forest, another obstacle to the animal recognition function of the auto focus.
My C2 dial is set for a 1000th of a second in shutter priority mode. I have turned off all subject tracking and set it to use only a single focus point. So I aimed my one focus point right at the deer’s head and began shooting in slow continuous mode, about 3 frames per second. Eventually the deer disappeared over the other side and I continued my trek.
As I was making my way back down the mountain I also came across this sweet doe foraging for food among the golden aspen leaves. This is one of my favorite pictures of the autumn color yet this season!
My Wildlife Photography Book
If you are interested in the fine details of photographing wildlife in the mountains, please give my Wildlife Photography in the Colorado Rockies book a chance! Learn all about wildlife behavior in the mountains, optimal camera settings, best lenses to use and much more! Plus the book is beautifully illustrated with dozens of my best wildlife pictures! Be sure to visit my published books page to peruse other books that I have written, including my latest novel, Spirit of the Wolf!
Also be sure to visit my huge gallery of images for wall art and gift items! The 2024 wildlife calendar is also now available for purchase!
Get your copy of Wildlife Photography in the Colorado Rockies on Amazon or Lulu Press! Discover the best locations and practices to get the most amazing wildlife pictures on your Colorado vacation! The book is filled with almost a hundred images with lots of tricks and tips to get the best captures!
Steven W. Krull
Photographer and author Steve Krull has been photographing and writing about the of the Colorado Rocky Mountains and it’s amazing diversity of life for over two decades. He has published thousands of images and several books including his latest novel Spirit of the Wolf.
