Red Deer At Bradgate

Went to Bradgate Park today in Leicestershire to photograph Red Deer during their rut and I was amazed at how close you can get to these beautiful animals.

The park is owned by the National Trust, the habitat is mainly open grassland but there is rocky/rugged outcrops scattered across the park.There is a small stream to your right as you go through the gate and my tip is to follow this until you come to a stone bridge on your right, cross the bridge and this is the best place for ‘backlit’ shots of the deer in this field as the sun comes up in front of you.A 300mm lens and above  will be fine as they are quite approachable.

The deer rut takes place in October and in the early morning light it is often possible to backlight the stags roaring in the field I mentioned.You will need to arrive while it is still dark to get into position on time.The car park will be closed then but there is limited parking on the road,walk into the park and through the gates then follow the stream and good luck.