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A pair of red deer stags facing off in mist at Tatton Park, antlers raised, photographed through a 500mm lens.

Rutting Deer at Tatton Park

The distant bellow of stags echoed across the trees, and I realised I had walked straight into the rut.

Tatton Park in Knutsford is a regular destination for peaceful walks. Flask of coffee, slow loop, a half-hope of catching the deer that roam the estate. This walk turned into something else. As the morning mist lifted, the bellowing closed in, and a pair of stags stepped into the open. With a Fuji X-T4 and a 500mm in hand I crouched in the bracken like a makeshift wildlife photographer and waited.

Moments like this are why a local park earns repeat visits. You stop walking the route; the route starts giving you frames.

Two stags squaring up, just after the mist lifted. 500mm at ISO 800, hand-held from a crouch in the bracken.

This was my first time photographing deer this close and they gave me plenty of opportunities. A few more frames live on my 500px feed. Honest assessment: 500mm was almost long enough. Almost. I came home convinced I needed something bigger.

A really big, really long new lens duly arrived a fortnight later. Tatton has more in store, and so do the other National Trust walks on the rotation, including Dunham Massey and Little Moreton Hall earlier in the same year.

You can browse my published portfolio over at 500px.

Tags 500px Autumn National Trust Photography Tatton Park Wildlife
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