Mature whitetail buck

This is an interesting photograph of a mature whitetail deer with massive antlers. The buck was following the trail of a doe that had passed moments earlier and hence his nose stayed at the ground as he approached. I have more opportunity to get close to bucks during the rut because they are distracted by their interest in the does.

This particular area holds a good number of deer because of the dense cover but getting a photograph is very difficult because of the abundant small saplings. The buck was inside 20 yards and this is the reason I was able to successfully focus. At farther distances it is pretty much impossible to focus on a moving animal. He was so close that he heard the shutter release and bolted. This was the only shot I got of him in this area.