Early Morning Encounters
The excessive heat throughout July has made walks in the countryside feel like something of a chore. As a result, despite managing a few woodland walks, I didn't get out very much during most of it. However, the temperatures dropped a little last week, staying on the right side of 20C on most days, at least up until mid morning, so, thanks to a series of early starts, I was able to get out onto the moors without spontaneously combusting.
I was hoping for some animal encounters while out and about, so I persuaded myself to bring the Nikon Z8 and my longest lens, the hefty 100-400. In a concession to reducing the weight of my bag ever so slightly, I swapped out my 24-70 f/4S lens in place of the usual 24-70 f/2.8S which is a bit of a lump. I was still grumbling at the weight, but it was manageable and at least it wasn't the GFX kit (which would have been useless for what I ended up photographing anyway, although the tripod might have been handy).
The Deer In The Woods
After the Kestrel flew off, I hung around for a while, but she didn't return, so eventually I made my way back through the woods and was pleased to stumble across this Roe Deer. He watched me for a few minutes as I crept closer, then, when he'd decided I was too close, he calmly trotted off down the path, eventually disappearing into the ferns.
