In the faint light and fog of the pre-dawn hour, I watched the shadowy forms of a small group of deer move slowly across an open area at my local marsh, heading for the treeline. My attempts to photograph them while they were moving were not successful. Once they reached the edge of the trees, however, this male White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) stopped for a moment and looked back at me. A moment later, he was gone.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
wonderful capture–I can just see you huddled in the bushes waiting for this magic moment :-
It’s always special seeing these magnificent animals. When I get a glimpse of them I usually forget that I even have a camera.
Beautiful shot, looks like a fairytale!
Thanks. Given the early hour, it was more like a dream.
Great photo. They always appear so regal and so much larger than they are.
Thanks. I was happy that it was reasonably in focus–it’s tough when there’s not so much light. Somewhere I remember being told always to wait after a deer has moved into the woods, because they will often turn their heads and look back. That was exactly what happened this time.
A little mystical. I like it.
Thanks. I still have not figured out how wildlife photographers get awesome shots early in the morning when there is such limited light. You can only push the ISO so much and the animals are moving, so the shutter speed can’t be too low. Since I like early mornings, I’ll try to keep at it and get some more shots like this.
I really love thus photo! The color is subtle but beautiful, and I love the way the deer is just barely visible, as they so often are.
Thanks, Sue. You get to see deer a whole lot more often than I do, so it’s always pretty special for me when I see one in a natural setting. As you know well, it’s tough to get shots in periods of really limited light, so I was happy that this came out at all.