This is a newborn deer fawn I photographed in Michigan. The camouflage was so good that I didn't see the baby until I was just six feet away. Instinctively, they don't move a muscle -- not even to blink -- because movement attracts the eye and predators would notice. I took this with film, and with my large medium format camera, the Mamiya RZ 67, I always used a tripod. I set up the tripod about 5 feet away, and because the fawn was perfectly motionless, I could use a long exposure and have the depth of field I really wanted. I assumed the mother was browsing somewhere relatively far away, but I kept looking behind me just in case. I used a 110mm lens -- equivalent to a 50mm in the full frame digital format -- and as best as I can remember based on how I used to shoot as well as the light intensity I see here, my settings would have been 1/15, f/22, and I used Fujichrome Provia 100.
2 Comments
Jan 5, 2019, 12:31:03 PM
Jim - Hi Rosemary, A friend of mine told me that in May, deer fawns could sometimes be seen in this park. It was Kensington Metro Park, just a half hour outside of Detroit. So, we were walking around looking for them. It was definitely an elevated experience.
Jan 5, 2019, 12:28:02 PM
Rosemary Sheel - It is lovely. Were you just walking through the woods and happened upon this fawn? Wasn't it a spiritual experience? I always feel that way when I "connect" with a wild animal...eye contact or similar. Except for snakes. I don't include them!