Deer

Photo Editing 2026?

/ Andy Finnegan / 7 Comments

Has it gone too far? In the “old days,” you could tweak your pictures in the darkroom. Then came digital, and I used Photoshop to edit my pictures – crop and adjust exposure, etc.

Today, on a long walk in the New Forest, we spooked a Fallow Deer doe with her fawn. They hopped out of the dense Bracken stop and had a good look at us before heading back into the undergrowth.

I took a series of pictures, but the deer were obscured in the foreground by the undergrowth.

Now with A1-supported photo editing, you can go further. I ran one of my pictures through a trial editing package.

I asked it to sharpen, de-noise, and remove the foliage from one of my pictures. This is the result, but I have to ask: is this acceptable, or is it a step too far in wildlife photography?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies

Antlers.

/ Andy Finnegan / 3 Comments

Fallow deer bucks typically cast their antlers annually, usually between April and May. The regrowth of new antlers follows this process. They are initially covered in soft, velvety skin. This skin is later rubbed off, leaving a hardened antler by August or September.

I watched 4 bucks in the New Forest this morning. Three had cast their antlers. The one still with his antlers had taken the alpha role and was dominant in this small group.

Sika.

/ Andy Finnegan / 5 Comments

Making another trip into the New Forest this morning, looking for Sika Deer. Sika deer are not native to the UK but have escaped from parks and collections nationwide. In the 1900s, King Edward VII gifted Lord Montague of Beaulieu a pair of Sika Deer. Some of their progeny escaped and now populate the New Forest in the Beaulieu area,

A successful walk with 2 groups of deer spotted. Sika are generally inquisitive in their behavior towards humans. They react quickly on the first suspicion of danger by fleeing. The animals today were very inquisitive of us. Seeing us as no threat, they were happy watching us. This allowed some close photographs to be taken.

Sika tails are shorter than Fallow Deer tails, and their rumps are normally all white. Male Fallow deer have broad, flattened antlers, while Sika antlers are pointed, like the Red Deer.