Love this shot. A nice take on modern architecture.

Bonus points for the vertical verticals.

And some snow on the hills as well.

Like this shot for its wonderful juxtaposition.

Dawn of The Deer

In what's beginning to feel like a futile attempt to get more than just one dawn shot in the bag before the clocks go forward next month, I've successfully dragged myself out of bed and up onto the moors before the sun has peeked above the horizon a total of five times over the last two weeks. How many successful sunrise shots have I captured so far this month? Zero. Nadah. Nil. It's fair to say it's not been going well at all, as every day I've gone out for this has ended up being quite overcast, although one day did brighten up quite nicely with some soft, golden light, but that was about two hours after sunrise had been and done its thing above a leaden wall of cloud. Still, at least it hasn't rained on those mornings and they've all been nice walks, so I'm not really complaining. Well, not that much.

Anyway, today I was a bit more optimistic. The sky was clear and there was a deep frost. Of course, the latter slowed me down a bit as I had to scrape the car windows clear, so I actually missed sunrise by a few minutes having failed to factor that delay into my plans (I'm sure I'd have gotten up earlier if I'd known, absolutely sure). Not that there was much of a sunrise worthy of note though as the sky was completely free of clouds. I guess the glow of twilight over the moors might have been worth a look, but that would have involved getting up even earlier, which makes it an even more unlikely event for me to capture at this point in time.

Another reason for the dawn shoots has been to try and catch some shots of the barn owl that prowls the area in the early light of day. I initially spotted it during the first dawn shoot I did this month. On that occasion I'd brought the GFX100S and hadn't packed any particularly long telephoto lenses (always a challenge for the old back where that camera is concerned), so I didn't even attempt to photograph it with what is definitely the slowest camera I own. To rub salt into the wounds, the damned thing followed me around for the next hour or so, clearly trying to spite me. With that in mind, I've subsequently brought the Z8 and 100-400 on the subsequent dawn shoots this month and therefore the owl has been a complete no show ever since.

What have been less conspicuous by their absence are the local roe deer. In fact they seem to be growing in number at the moment. I counted seven in the herd I spotted this morning (assuming seven counts as a herd that is) and at least one or two have been present on most of the mornings I've been up there recently.

Anyway, here's a round up what I've photographed over the past two weeks during my dawn walks. I've even included some woodland shots for added variety.

Edge of The Woods

This was taken on my way back to the car after my 2nd dawn shoot with the GFX100S. This magnificent tree is situated in a field just outside Nab Wood. The field is enclosed by a fence, so I ended up straddling the fence with my tripod to take this shot. I quite like this shot, although a bit more mist to remove some of the background details wouldn't go amiss.

Not You Again

Also spotted near the end of a walk as I was heading into the woods having spotted very little of photographic interest until I crossed paths with this fellow. He gave me a dirty look and then trotted off. Later, on my way through the woods I ran into a bunch of his lady friends, so I think the dirty look was probably because I was cramping his style a bit.

Other Water

The well known pool on The Nab is known as Blue Water, allegedly it was once blue and got tainted brown to dissuade people from swimming in it. This pool is its close neighbour and as far as I know is unnamed. I was quite surprised to come across it actually, as on previous occasions when I've visited this spot there's been no water here, so I didn't even know it had tendencies to fill up like this.

Woodland Ravers

The obligatory dancing trees spotting on my way through Nab Wood. On these morning walks with the Z8 I've been throwing the 14-30 f/4S in the kit bag alongside the 100-400 in case, unlikely as it may seem, there is a nice sunrise. Turns out it's also quite good for woodland shots too. These were taken handheld after sunrise.

In The Soft Light of Dawn

From the same morning as the dancing trees, I spotted this doe and her buck (who is skulking around in the ditch behind her) while packing my things back into the car, so I quickly got the camera out again and took a few shots before they scuttled off. I like the way the trees framed her in this instance and the soft, early morning light that started breaking through the clouds around 9ish really gives this a nice feel.

The rest of these shots are from this morning, which turned out to be a mammoth deer photography session, where I took more than 500 shots over a two hour period. I spotted these deer as soon as I got out of the car, they were in a field beside the road where I'd parked and not too far away. Initially they were oblivious to my presence, but the moment I stepped on some frosty leaves they were onto me. I counted seven of them, two buck and five doe.

Single File

Two bucks and a doe cross the field, but tensions are brewing...

Harsh Conditions

A wider shot showing the frosty conditions. Even the deer themselves have frost on their backs, that fur must be brilliant insulation.

Rutting Roe Deer

At this point the two bucks decided to start a fight. Now, I've photographed the deer rut in the Lake District a couple of times and being bellowed at by large red deer with fearsome antlers is somewhat intimidating. These guys on the other hand were vaguely comical as, armed with small, velvet covered antlers they risked giving each other a nasty nudge. The lone doe slowly sneaks past, probably tutting and shaking her head as she goes.

Spotted

At one point they stopped squabbling to focus their rage on me. Not the most intimidating moment for me to be honest.

The Girlfriends Look On

Likely embarrassed by all the ruckus.

Moving On

Finally they decided to continue their harsh trek across the field, one day hoping to reach... the next field.

Argh! My Eyes!

Not sure what triggered this, probably the sun popping over the horizon or something.

A Wistful Look

"I remember when all this was fields... oh, it still is you say?"

Treading Carefully

This young doe is well aware that I'm watching with the camera as she cautiously creeps along hoping not to be spotted.

Stalking The Woods

Meanwhile, in the scrubby woods, the victorious buck from earlier casts a baleful eye in my direction. Nope, still not intimidated.

Fab selection with so many excellent shots.
Just one of them...

Other Water looks like an interesting locality for some more intimate shots.
The deer pics are all great, but this one made me laugh - all those legs! I had to count them just to make sure there wasn't an extra one hidden in there 😁

Love this!
Have you considered cropping the right hand side to leave just the person close to the edge?

I like this as it's an area I haven't seen before.
The trees really look as If they're dancing, I thought that before I saw your strapline.
But it's the 'two-headed deer' that is my fav.

National Gallery?
Great shot.

Nicely seen as usual. But maye it needs a bit more exposure to bring up the light walls.

This is my pick from this week haul. I like what look like green stepping stones.

TERMINAL 5 -- I worked on this project during the 2021 to 2023 timeframe, so it is fun to see it in action. This picture was taken from Harbor Island looking across the West Waterway toward T-5. I used the 24-120G @ 46mm and stitched 4 frames (portrait). This lens is not the best for IQ and "sunstars" (night lights) -- I much prefer the 20/1.8 in that regard. But I wanted to get a tighter shot. The 60/2.8 would have been "too tight" -- so the 24-120 was the option. I am keeping my eye out for a second-hand 35mm prime which I think would be very useful. A little bit of flare at the light sources and also off to the right, but nothing too objectionable. I probably should have used a 3s exposure rather than 4s, but it was dark and cold and it "looked OK" on the rear screen. It's always fun to get out and shoot.

Great view and REALLY nice IQ.

I really like #2 - very nice feel to it. Yes, this type of shooting is fun! I used to do a lot more of it (Jazz Alley in Seattle) but don't go there was often nowadays since they changed their photo policy about 2 years ago.

Very nice. My favorite is #3.

Looks like summer. Has the snow melted in Toronto?

The deer are excellent (all of them). I like #4 the dancing trees.

Seattle right? I think it's a belter of a shot. You downplay your 24-120 a bit but the starbursts look great to me.

Thank-you, Sir. VERY funny... "belter" -- I looked it up! Yes, this is one of the port terminals in Seattle. The T-5 project I worked on rebuilt the entire wharf (approx. 3000 ft / 900m), dredged the berths to -57 ft (-17.4m) and added 6 new super-post-Panamax cranes (the other one is hiding off to the right). The 24-120 is a good lens. It is a steady workhorse. Sometimes it surprises me. And sometimes... it is what it is. A kit lens! :-)

And you still work there?

No sir... it was just a 2-year construction project that I worked on. The benefit is... I got to know the area a little better... the various ins-and-outs, access points, and secluded places to take a picture! LOL.