I hope that the title did not lead to an expectation that you would find photos of tiny deer in this posting. It may have been a stretch to use that title, but I wanted to give a hint of the fact that I captured all of these images with my macro lens. In fact, the first two images are uncropped, which gives you an idea of how close I was to the deer.
Yesterday I set off for Occoquan Regional Park to search primarily for dragonflies and butterflies. I put my Tamron 180 mm macro lens on my camera, a lens which is my go-to lens for much of the spring and summer. Now I must confess that the reach of this macro lens is a bit longer than the average macro lens, which generally has a focal length of 100 mm or so, but it certainly would not be my first choice for wildlife photography.
I was sitting on a log taking a break when I heard some nearby noise in the underbrush. I stood up, expecting to see a scurrying squirrel, and suddenly was face-to face with a White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus). For a considerable amount of time the deer eyed me with curiosity before slowly moving away. As I watched the deer depart, I noticed another deer, one with amazingly long ears. As I prepared to photograph the second deer, the first one photobombed us, resulting in the third image.
This situation reinforced to me the importance of shooting with whatever camera or lens that I happen to have at hand. It may not be the optimal option, but it can often yield surprisingly good results.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I love the shot with the ears. That definitely looks like you’ve been busted, Mike.
Thanks, Dan. I considered not including the shot, but the ears were too adorable to exclude.
Beautiful!
I have wondered how well you could push a macro lens into shooting further out. Answered my question, thanks 😀
Benjamin and I are delighted by your marvelous photos, we too came upon some deer yesterday while adventuring! While I had no camera handy, nor am I a photographer of your talent and skills (nor equipment!), we were able to enjoy our sighting by standing very still and quiet as they quickly continued on their way. Your photos are lovely just as viewed here, but we found them breathtaking when enlarged. Benjamin, of course, loves being able to examine the details such as the texture of their “furry coats” and their “big noses”! Thank-you, Mr. Mike!!
Thanks for sharing the post with Benjamin and for passing on his reaction. It is particularly cool that he just saw some deer. I too was standing still for quite some time as the deer and I checked each other out.
Nice one Mike
Thanks, Louis.
Very nicely done, Mike. Glad you included the third photo in your post!
Thanks, Chris. The third one has a greater sense of dynamism, in my view, than the other two and seems to show a bit more of the personality of the two deer.
Love these! That last one especially could be framed!
Thanks. A lot of people seem to really like that last shot.
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