February 2024

I would hope that in the future, February will be one of my busiest months for work, as it seems to be when most clients wish to visit the Highlands. This February though, was fairly quiet for me. I expected it to be so, while word gradually spreads out of my presence in the area, and not on Mull.

I had a few workshops though, with mountain hares and crested tits being the favourite subjects. One subject that hardly got a look in over the winter was red deer. Some of this stems from their availability to photographers down south, in deer parks such as Bradgate or Richmond. Here, photographers can get some wonderful images during the rut.

The Highlands though, has a healthy population of (generally) truly wild red deer, and what the area has that the parks do not, is breathtaking scenery to incorporate into images.

I spent a day out in one of the locations I take clients to, and enjoyed some wonderful sights of the stags and hinds, and a few youngsters around the hills. Plenty of other wildlife around too, such as buzzards and eagles.

But the moment of the day came as the sun started to set behind the snow-covered hills, and I managed to get a red deer stag silhouetted by it. Sure, it would have been better had the stag been blessed with more shapely antlers, but the image still works, and takes this month's prize.

So if you're thinking of a wildlife photography workshop with me next winter, why not ask to include a day out looking for deer as well. Add something a bit different to your red deer portfolio...