The old boy

I decided to walk somewhere different today so I went to Richmond Park with Xena. As I approached the car park I saw this magnificent stag sitting quite near the road, sunning himself after his mud bath this morning. I walked back to where he was sitting and got a few photos - I did not go too close as I had Xena on the lead next to me. The hinds were more curious about Xena, as they had a young calf with them - see extra of mum and aunties with the baby at the back. Xena doesn't bark or react so they did not feel threatened, but I kept a respectful distance.

I am still trying to sort through my photos to find some suitable for camera club competitions. Wildlife and bird photos are not considered good enough unless they show animal behaviour, I suppose its too easy to get a photo of a bird on a stick - not for me it isn't, I can never get bird photos as they are too quick!

I was trying out different focusing modes. I bought an e-book by a professional photographer on the best focusing modes for the Nikon mirrorless cameras, and so I was trying out some of the suggested settings, including back button focusing which I have never really got on with before. It seems to be easy enough to use but will take a while to remember not to use the shutter button to focus.

I have been wrapping Gavin's birthday presents, its his birthday on Sunday and the family are all meeting up in London for a birthday lunch. He is not happy to be another year older, I think none of us are!