Window of Opportunity

Not the best, closest photos I always try to get, but a sense of the scenery these bucks call their stomping grounds (literally) makes composition for photographers pretty tricky. I found windows, albeit small, to photo these testosterone filled bucks with plenty more to come in future posts. The rut is in high gear right now for us in the Land of Lincoln, as the lip-curling & chasing are all the rage. These beasts with their massive necks that are swollen to maximum capacity are what I am here for. I love this time of year!

Velvet Underground

Finding bucks in velvet is tough. They are vulnerable at this stage while their antler is growing. it is covered with highly vascular skin called velvet, which supplies oxygen and nutrients to the growing bone; once the antler has achieved its full size, the velvet is lost and the antler's bone dies. This dead bone structure is the mature antler, which is itself shed after each mating season.



Finding these guys is always luck, and with all of the searching I've been doing, the payoff finally came this morning!



The lighting was just a half hour after sunrise, the fog hung low to the ground, and the suns rays were creeping up, just past this guy. The saturation was a bit harsh, but I like it!