In hot weather tempers tend to flare whether in the world of man or beast. I recently returned to Tatum Plantation for a photo shoot in response to a phone conversation with Slade Priest. He had spotted some huge bucks and it lit a fire to attempt to photograph them. My first trip resulted in the new 2007 photos seen in the gallery. It was a difficult trip with deer movement restricted due to temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. I was ready to go home due to the adverse weather when I was able, with Slade's assistance, to capture this monster buck one evening at around 6PM.
The deer you see here in our archive was the only result of a 4 day trip last week. I had no opportunity to photograph the big bucks again but it turned out to be one of those up close and personal encounters with a spike buck. These deer were feeding sometimes within 12 feet of my blind. I had wind advantage and good concealment when suddenly one spike buck began walking in a direction to pass within 6-7 feet to the right of my blind. When he got within about 8 feet of me he smelled me and bolted. The only thing was, he bolted toward me and stopped with his head on the other side of a tree from me at a distance of approximately 5-6 feet. Once he stopped, he began to back out and eventually went on his way. The mad buck in the top picture was similar to the one I just mentioned. These photographs were taken during that encounter. I called the photograph below "Smile Deer" because they seem to be posing. These are great moments in the life of a wildlife photographer.
