Young Bucks

On a recent hike into the high desert, I took my 1974 Vivitar Series One 70-210 mm lens with me. During its days it was a respected lens but today one can almost get it for free in the flea market. I still like to challenge myself using "prehistoric" cameras and lenses. And today my "streets" were the open spaces of Skull Valley, Arizona.

Walked for a couple of hours after sunrise. On these hikes I take a pot of coffee with me and sitting atop a rock I have my first cup of coffee while watching the sunrise. Lately I have been seeing young bucks, with velvet covered antlers and decided to take the heavy Nikon F3 and Vivitar lens setup with me.

I was not disappointed. Around 8 o'clock I saw three bucks in the flatlands about 300 meters away. All these pictures are taken at f8 aperture and 1/500 second. I slightly enlarged a couple to emphasize the scene.

This young one was the most curious. I whistled loudly and he stopped to look at me.

 Then he joined the other two, one of which was an older male. They were now more than 400 meters away and I knew the old lens was going to struggle with the quality of the picture.

This one made me smile when I printed it -- the second, older male seems to tell a story while the young one ahead of him was pulling his tongue out! What was the discussion all about?

Well, maybe this is what the older buck was informing the young one!!

 I was pleased that the 40+ years old lens was still capable of capturing little secrets from 400 meters away....

August 24, 2015

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2015