Red Deer Guided Wildlife Photography Day
Available November to April Only
Prices
1-1 tuition £200 per day
1-2 tuition £300 per day (for you and a friend)
Red Deer is an easy day of wildlife photography, like with Red Grouse we will be utilising the car as a mobile hide to photograph the Monarch of the Glen.
Red Deer (Cervus Elaphus) are especially beautiful during the winter, the males still have their large racks of antlers that they used for the mating season in the autumn and which they drop in the spring. Not only do the males still have their antlers, there is the chance that you will be able to photograph Red Deer in the snow!
During the winter Red Deer come down from the hills and can often be found in the valleys around the Highlands. In the spring as the males drop their antlers they will move into the uplands to graze and allow their antlers to grow over the summer, often growing 2.5 cm or 1 inch a day.
Towards the end of summer the males begin to scrape the antlers on trees to remove the felt covering, a very bloody and gruesome site, and this is when they begin to move down from the hills again. The autumn sees hormones rage in both genders with the beginning of the mating season or rut.
The males will bellow and fight over the hills for the attention of their females, the roars haunting the hills. After the rut this is when we will begin our photographic pursuit, on rare occasions it is possible to photograph Red Deer in other seasons than winter but the reliability of encountering individuals means that I don’t feel comfortable offering that service.
If you want to take the risk and try to photograph Red Deer in the other seasons, then please contact me and we can discuss what you would like to do.
There are a few locations throughout the Scottish Highlands that I like to visit for Red Deer. The majority of the location are outside of the Cairngorms National Park and require a bit more of a drive than my other wildlife photography tours.
We will be using the car as a mobile hide driving down small roads in the valleys with occasional short walks from the car as we try and stalk closer. Deer are very sensitive to smell, so wind direction will be a big factor on our approach and as they are shot animals they can be quite nervous of humans.
The car helps to block our scent and Red Deer do not perceive a car as a threat, unlike the shape of humans. The moors are very un-even ground with mounds and holes across the terrain, and there are often swampy areas.
So we will move cautiously when we are stalking them, and we will get low down crawling across through the heather to get close.
As the first areas we shall explore are quite a distance from the Cairngorms National Park, we will begin the day at around 08:00 and we will be out on location until sunset before turning back. Throughout the day we will be moving from location to location in the car, slowly getting closer to the Cairngorms National Park and eventually back to your accommodation.
Luckily as this winter, the sunset will cast beautiful light over the moors and create some beautiful backgrounds. We will continue no matter what the weather is, as the rain or snow can often provide for some new and interesting images. As an extra and guaranteed Red Deer photography session, we can visit Alvie Estate where the stalker will take us into a woodland setting in which Red Deer stags gather.
The other locations we will visit are not guaranteed although there is a very high likelihood of encountering stags.
By comparison, Alvie Estate is a guaranteed location, taking place in the afternoon. As Alvie Estate is an experience with the stalker of the estate we will have to pay for that experience, which will be £100 for the two of us or £150 for the three of us. Or we can visit Alvie Estate only and the price will stay the same.
For more information about this experience, please contact me.
Personally, I think it’s a good idea to have an idea of what kind of image you would like to get before we head out. We can work on getting some close portraits of Red Deer with the colours of the heather in the background and we can also try for some wider images, placing the animal in its environment.
You should bring all of your equipment that you can and we can explore different images using the car to store our equipment.
We will discuss images, ideas, compositions and techniques throughout the day, and I hope to give you some information on field techniques for wildlife photography. It depends on your level of photography as to how much we will need to cover, but I can give you as much tuition as you desire.
In the car there will be a box of fresh fruit and a box of chocolate bars, and some hot water to make hot drinks, such as coffee, tea or hot chocolate. You are welcome to help yourself and we will take regular breaks.
You will need to bring your own packed lunch for the day, but if you are unable to bring a lunch we can stop at a supermarket or shop for you to buy your lunch for the day.
Payment will be taken at the time of booking via bank transfer or Stripe to secure your dates
Fitness Level
This is a fairly easy day based around the car, as we will utilise it as a mobile hide. As well as that we will take some short walks across the heather moors, which is very un-even and often wet underfoot. We will often be crawling through the heather to get closer.
What’s Included
Photography Tuition
Transport throughout the day
Water, hot drinks and snacks
Species We May Encounter:
Red Deer!
Golden Plover
Red Grouse
Mountain Hare
Meadow Pippit
Fieldfare
Red Kite
Buzzard
What’s NOT Included
Equipment Rental - unfortunately I don’t have equipment such as cameras, lenses or filters to lend you for the day and you will be required to provide your own
Lunch - please don’t forget to bring a packed lunch for the day, I would recommend bringing a little extra than you normally would as it is a long day
Recommended Equipment
The links below are affiliate links to amazon.co.uk this means that if you make a purchase, amazon will pay me a small commission, this does not affect the price for you but it helps to support my work and it means amazon earn less too!
DSLR/4:3/Mirrorless Camera (a camera of some description, I use a Canon 1DX mark II)
Telephoto lens (such as Canon 100-400mm f4-5.6 or Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6)
Prime Lenses like Canon 400mm f2.8, 500mm f4 or 600mm f4 would be very useful or their equivalent for your system
Teleconverters (such as Canon 1.4x or Canon 2x teleconverter)
Tripod (such as 3 Legged Thing Winston Tripod or Gitzo Series 3)
Waterproof jacket and trousers (such as Berghaus Deluge Trousers and Jacket) a real must to be able to crawl around the heather comfortably
Warm clothes, hat and gloves
Spare Batteries, memory cards and anything else you may need
Don’t forget your Lunch
Please familiarise yourself with the Health and Safety Policy regarding Guided Photography days and in particular the Risk Assessment for your chosen activity. By booking a guided session, you agree to the Terms and Conditions set out in the booking form.
