The day dawned very clear and crisp, as I often do I was up and about before dawn, had a cup of coffee and some bacon. Then took my camera, and left my parents home very quietly so as not to startle the dog. My folks live in the middle of the South Downs is West Sussex, for those that don't know it: it is a belt of chalk based hills that run right across the south of England, much of it is wooded or lightly farmed, creating a wonderful environment for animals of all kinds.

My quarry this morning were dear that I had seen the evening bfore from my parent's garden.

Dressed in old army gear and boots I headed up into the woods across the main road and was surrounded by the sounds of a woodland awakening. It was full of bird song and the dew was still every where. Every cobweb was a necklace of diamonds in the low morning sun. I moved towards the field where I had seen the deer and was pleased to see they were still there but I was up wind of them, so spent the next hour moving in a wide arc all the way around them and slowly manage to creep up on them.

Deer have amazing eyesight, sense of smell and the most incredible hearing.  I knew I would not get many chances to get a decent shot of them. The sun was considerably higher in the sky when I got into a position, downwind and close enough to get a shot with my camera.

I took a single exposure with my DSLR and the stag had already spotted me....the herd charged off in the opposite direction leaving me to walk back home across the field in the warm morning sun...perfect :)

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