CABERFEIDH

This was one of the more obliging Red Deer on this trip, although there

are thousands in the area they mostly proved quite

elusive. "CABERFEIDH" was the name of the Hotel that we stayed at

and after some enquiries we found out it was a Gaelic word meaning

Deers Antlers, I thought it was a fitting title. Your thoughts and

comments are always appreciated. Thank You.

Those antlers are unbelievable.  I think I'd like to see this in b&w (get rid of the distractions of colors) because you've captured a lot of history on the flesh of this rugged cabeerfeidh.

Alf, a beautiful creature,  would think people who hunt with more then a camera would love to have came across this majestic animal.  this guy looks very alert,  that's probably a big part of how he got this big and with as many points. nice nature image, a treat to view.

Alf... Magnificent stag and the lighting is perfect.  Superb detail and impressive the way you asked him to pose! ;-)... Mike

A beautiful shot with very nice lighting and details, Alf!

With best regards,

Ruud.

 

A superb shot of this magnificent animal in his natural surroundings. Nicely done Alf!

All the best,
Neil

Hi Alf,

Nice capture.

With the exception of using F/8, the technical merits are good.

Along with my many other specific lens collections, I own this one , too. It does provide even better performance at F/5.6 than F/8 as you zoom to longer focal ratio settings.

Again, I measure every lens in the optical lab. Here , the truth about how good a lens really is is know. Then it is up to the user to obtain the best out in the field.

You did a good job hand holding th a lens.

Best Regards,  Mike

Alf,

  Beautiful capture of this big guy with wonderful lighting, details & colors.  Thanks for sharing.  Take care, Patsy

Lots to like here! The angle of the tall grass following the contours of the deer's body, the lighting which focuses viewer attention on the head and antlers and of course the expression of the deer as it seems to be unaware of your presence. I would be very pleased with, and proud of this image.

 

Jim

WOW!! Super beautiful capture!!

Cheers.

Alf, the light in this is really lovely particularly on the antlers and the way it strikes the whites on the face. 

Perfect title indeed ( & I learned something again -- now trying to remember this word, is another thing altogether :-) My initial reaction was like Donna's: wonder what this would look like rendered in B&W....? Very much like the way you placed the stag in the frame, Alf. (BTW, as you took this handheld, wonder what focal length it was...?)  Gr, Marjolein

Very impressived. It is ver hard to do it since we did it before but not good. Best Regards,

Fantastic image Alf, the colors and the dynamic range is phenomenal.  Was he compiled and tone mapped?  A truly wondrous work.  Thank you for sharing.  Best regards...

-Dave

DONNA

You have extraordinary vision! I read your comments with usual interest and appreciation, however when I got to the suggestion regarding B & W I almost dismissed it, I say amost because I doubted it would look anything special in B & W but then reconsidered. I just completed a quickly processed B & W version, and I have to say, you were 100% right. I will complete a further version and post it. Sincere thanks for your interest and excellent suggestions!

Best Regards

Alf

ROGER

I thought I'd wait until after the game today to reply : - ) It was touch and go but King Kennys men prevailed.

There is a certain amount of licensed hunting, but I have to be honest, I couldn't kill such a creature. For a start they are so trusting, ok slightly wary and certainly alert as you observed, but this one and many others we encountered didn't bolt for cover immediately, in fact they seemed quite content to stay a short distance away. I'm really pleased you liked it Roger and my sincere thanks for your interest and feedback.

Best Regards

Alf

MIKE M

I think this guy might have been looking for a part in a film, he was really obliging, he turned his head this way and that and didn't make any sudden moves, I was expecting his agent to pop out from the undergrowth at any time! : - )

Sincere Thanks

Alf

RUUD

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement.

Best Regards

Alf

NEIL

Many Thanks for your visit and positive feedback. Interesting to note that the Laurel bushes in the background are not a native UK species, I believe they were brought from China many years ago and sine propagated all over the UK. There is a now a campaign to remove them as they upset the local ecological balance, but I think it's going to be a long hard battle.

Cheers Neil

Alf

MIKE P

You are of course quite right, and on relfection I should have used f5.6, but we across this creature very suddenly and I got as many shots as possible without changing the aperture from a previous setting.

Many Thanks for your interest and knowledgeable imput.

Best Regards

Alf

PATSY

Many thanks for your interest and positive feedback. much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

JIM

I was a bit fortunate with this particular shot, I got out of the car and kept a low profile and moved very slowly to the left, my friend remained in the car shooting out of the window, and the deer turned its head towards the car, and click! Sincere Thanks for your interest and feedback Jim, very much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

ALBERTO

I'm really pleased you liked it, thank you so much!

Best Wishes

Alf

TONY

You are right, I think I was fortunate with the light and didn't really appreciate it until I processed the shot. Many Thanks for your insightful comments, much appreciated.

Best Regards

Alf

MARJOLEIN

Thats the beauty of this site, it provides a forum for the little snippets of information that we collect en route to our respective photographic goals, that contribute to the overall enjoyment. I always find it difficult to remember words I can't pronounce when reading them. But I found out the pronunciation was Caber-feeth but you'll have to add your own scottish accent : - )

I have just tried a B & W version as a result of the suggestion by Donna and yourself, and I have to say, I like it better than the colour version. I also would add that I didn't really expect to, it come as a real surprise!

The focal length was 200 mm I'm never very proficient at hand held shots but this came out ok.

Sincere Thanks Marjolein

Alf

WANGHAN

It can be very difficult you are right, its all about being in the right place at the right time, and of course a bit of knowledge helps too.

Many Thanks

Alf

DAVE

No Dave this image was the result of a single shot. But it's always easier to get the dynamic range at optimum levels when there is no sky in the shot. It's usually the excess of light that upsets the balance. I'm really pleased you liked it Dave and thank you most sincerely for your observations and feedback.

Best Regards

Alf

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awesome shot Alf..you certainly nailed this handsome looking critter!

I swear I saw that you had titled it Glenfiddich!  Ahh well.  Too bad.  Still a great picture.  Looks too sharpened to me.  Back to my old grumpy tricks, I suppose.  I sharpened a couple of pictures recently for printing.  Thin end of the wedge.  best, jamie

great capture. lovely photo.

Congratulations on an incredible capture!

A very regal animal. Stunning in fact. This reminds me of a Limited Edition Print we sold when we had the Gallery. These fellows are very popular here in Canada.  I never tire of seeing them.

Where we lived a few years back we had a Buck and his 'Harem' living in the back woods, I saw a brief glimpse of them one sunny fall day and it took my breath away.

Beautiful capture Alf. Thanks for sharing.

Kindest regards, Gail

roger took my words, "majestic". they are so beautiful.

KEITH

This chap was seemingly unpreturbed by our presence, he kept a watchful eye on us as he munched away at the grass, but didn't take off straight away like some of his more shy relatives.  Many Thanks for stopping by  Keith.

Best Regards

Alf

JAMIE

You have been staring at them blurry images for too long, or maybe  at the empty bottle : - )

Seriously though, this lens is very sharp and I didn't alter my sharpening settings in photoshop, so thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it : - )

Thank you Jamie & Take Care

Alf

ZSOLT

Many thanks for your interest and kind words, much appreciated.

Best Regards

Alf

KATHY

Thank you so much, I'm really pleased you liked it.

Best Regards

Alf

GAIL

"Regal" is indeed a fitting adjective for this animal. I never tire of seeing them either, i was just as excited as seeing the 40th one as I was the first, and the amazing thing is they all somehow look different. 

You really need to put Scotland top of your visiting list, there is a road that we took a drive down, approx 15 miles long, it's a single track road that doesn't particularly lead to anywhere, but there are deer in abundance, often just grazing by the roadside as this guy was, then theres a beautiful river / creek and a views that are just magnificent, it took us 2 hours to drive 15 miles : - ) I just know you'd love it.

Sincere thanks for your interest and invaluable feedback Gail, very much appreciated.

Warm Regards

Alf

DROR

They are indeed, "Monarch of The Glen" always springs to mind when I see them.  Thanks for stopping by and leaving your thoughts my friend.

Best Regards

Alf

PS: Great Result, Van Persie does it yet again, and Wenger coudln't stop smiling!

 

Hi Alf Absolutely Superb. Am not interested in the technical details.It.Is just a pleasure tio sit back & enjoy this small slice of nature. Love the way the grasses flow.. Best regards_Ross

there are also a lot of variables, though - sharpening and contrast enhancement by default in camera, sharpening and contrast enhancement by default in the raw converter.  It still looks pumped to me.  The lens was racked out all the way out to 300 mm, right?  I think there's been a lot of dark subtraction.  best, j

Yeah, sometimes it's just nice to sit back and enjoy, without the intense scrutiny us photographers get carried away with.

The grasses are a favourite element of this image for me too, I'm really pleased you enjoyed this one Ross, and thank you for your visit and kind words.

Best Regards

Alf

JAMIE

It was 200mm but as I say the lens is very sharp and I didn't change the settings I normally use. Maybe also the "Clarity" slide control in Lightroom would account for some of this too. I think this was set at f8 if I remember rightly and Mike mentioned that f5.6 would have been the optimum aperture to use, but I wouldn't think that would have any bearing on it looking over sharp, therefore it must have occurred in processing.

Cheers Jamie

Alf