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Best places to photograph deer


ronanld_chapman_ii

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Other than what used to be my vegetable garden...Swan Island, Maine is where the LL Bean School of Outdoor Photography holds a weekend workshop every July dedicated only to photography of whitetail deer. I bet they got 'em there. Check their website and go to the Outdoor Discovery Schools section at www.llbean.com
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Estes Park/Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado. Deer, Elk, Sheep, and various birds. Right from the road. Oh yea...fairly dramatic landscape.

 

Fly into Denver. Rent a car. Drive two hours northwest (it's west of Boulder--can't miss it. Highways 34 and 36 converge in Estes Park.)

 

Enjoy

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The Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs has (or at least used to have) quite a herd of deer. At dusk, it wasn't unusual to see 200 to 300 grazing on the parade grounds. Hunting of the deer used to be prohibited on the 18,000 acre campus, but I think they have been issuing special hunting permits to thin out the herd a bit.
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Most all fifty states have some deer population. Why don't you ask the outdoor editor of you local newspaper. You know, the hunting - fishing guy? You can see a lot of them fom the road in parts of Texas. That is until the first shot is fired during hunting season. If you like antelope they are plenty of them in the Davis Mountain area around Ft. Stockton also some javalena, mountain lions, etc..
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Since you live in Washington, Hurricane Ridge in Oly NP is a good place to photograph blacktail. Columbia Whitetail are in the Julia B Hansen NWR along the Columbia River near Clatskanie. They're on the endangered list to boot, though they were just about off until the 100-yr flood in 1996 did a little landscaping of the refuge and surrounding bottomlands. This is the only whitetail subspecies in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Mule deer - head east, young man. Mule deer are common in the western part of the state but most folks don't know it - we call them "blacktailed deer" (they're a mule deer subspecies). Your classic mulies are a high desert species. In Oregon they're extremely easy to photograph around the Malheur NWR, as are pronghorn. It's also one of the best spots for bird photography in the West.

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Ronnald,

Just start asking people in your area where they see deer. You will start finding that people who know other people that have deer in their yards etc. I find most of my good deer spots this way. Attend a local Audubon meeting and ask around. By the way Hurricane ridge is great for Blacktails and RMNP above Estes Park Colorado is great for Mulies

Good light to you

Chris

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Hello Ronnald. After a lifetime of deer hunting, about five years ago,I had a "change of heart" and thus began my obsession with photography. It has been my experience that there are two kinds of deer: those that contend with hunting pressures, and those that do not.

 

Deer that associate humans with danger are not easy to photogragh, because they'll bolt at the slightest hint of danger. Therefore, in order to get the "Great Shot", one must locate the deer ( usually by observing deer sign ), conceal themselves via blinds etc., and wait for the deer to come to them. In spite of the fact that I no longer hunt, I still belong to a couple of Deer Leases in Texas, specifically to photograph deer in this manner. The "Great Shot is worth the wait.

 

The easiest way to photograph deer is to locate deer that are not subjected to hunting pressures. They are much more approachable. In fact, some deer in this setting associate humans with food and will eat out of your hands. Although some state parks allow periodic hunting of deer, many do not. The deer in these parks are very approachable. I would suggest contacting the parks in your area about their deer population.

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  • 8 years later...

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