DRL Photography

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Red Deer Photography in Winter

Show Notes

This is the last film that I managed to make before the Corona Virus pandemic began.

After a long day of working on the computer, I wanted to get some fresh air and do some photography. So, I decided to head down to one of my favourite locations for photographing Red Deer.

I was lucky that there was still a bit of snow about and I managed to photograph these majestic animals with a snowy backdrop. The stags still had their full rack of antlers and paraded around the moor, even wrestling a bit.

It was a great way to finish a busy day.

I hope you enjoy the film and the pictures!

The more subscribers to my channel, the more motivation I will have and I’ll keep producing as many videos as possible!

So, please subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Onto the Images…

I love the way this red deer stood head on, looking at the camera, while standing on a blanket of snow and with the forest background. It really places the animal in his environment. That’s where he should be and he is in control.

An over the shoulder glance at the camera in the middle of his grazing. This nonchalant red deer was not bothered by me or my camera, happily munching on the vegetation for his evening meal.

This image took a lot of editing to get to a standard that I was happy with. As you can imagine the white of the snow and clouds was quite blown out in comparison to the deer and foreground.

So, using various brushes and filters in Lightroom, I managed to bring the landscape into the exposure and really show off this red deer in a Scottish scene.

Just a very simple portrait of a deer filling the entire frame of the image. He was quite curious about the car and the camera but soon settled down and ignored me!

You can really see and feel the power of his muscles when you see red deer standing side on.

The last image of that evening, watching these two young red deer gently wrestling with their antlers reminded me of dogs playing.

It didn’t seem like a very serious affair, having witnessed the violence of a rut and the force that they are capable of when trying to defend their harem of females made me think that this was just practice rather than attempt to establish dominance.

Maybe they were arguing over a particular patch for grazing. Who knows…

It was definitely a privilege to witness though and to film a little, even though it was rather shaky!


About the Film

Just a little information about the film and how I made it, as well as some links to equipment.

I edited the film using the Free Version of DaVinci Resolve. It’s an incredibly powerful piece of software that I am still trying to understand and will possibly write an article about in the future.

The music in this video is a track that I licensed from Premium Beats by ShutterStock called:

Bon Voyage by Origami Pigeon.

A short Kit List

These are affiliate links, which means if you follow them and make a purchase I will earn a small commission for referring you to Amazon UK. You can find out more about affiliate links here.

Main Vlog Camera is a simple Panasonic G80 with the kit lens, its a great little mirrorless camera that I got for the sole purpose of creating YouTube videos. It’s capable of filming in 4k and seems to do everything that I want it to.

Rode Mic, I got this little microphone to boost the audio quality from the inbuilt microphone.

Action Camera, I use this to film myself when walking. It’s a simple DJI Pocket Osmo camera that has a motorised 3 axis gimbal head, which means that I stay in focus and static while the landscape around me moves. It’s also capable of filming in 4k and the audio quality is quite good.

Voice Recorder, to boost the audio quality when it’s windy or I’m using the action camera I use this handy little voice recorder with a lapellier microphone to record audio.

Voice Over Microphone, I use this microphone to do recording at home, so if I forget to mention something or I want to change what I’m talking about I can use this microphone to record in the studio for clear, crisp audio.


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Written by Daniel Long

Daniel Long created DRL Photography as a place to showcase his work as a photographer. Daniel has learnt a lot about photography and wishes to impart this knowledge with you, although the world is an ever changing place and he always says “you can never learn everything.” So as he makes his way, he continues to learn knew techniques, skills and information about photography. He focuses on Landscape and Wildlife photography and Daniel has a special focus on Scotland, his home away from home. As well as writing about photography and taking pictures out in the field, Daniel offers guided photography days so he can share his knowledge and locations in an effort to give his clients the best opportunities possible. Have a browse around this website to see his images, guided experiences and articles about photography. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in contact.