Robert Coleman
April 2026 - Two Bucks
Original
About the Image(s)
I decided to go for a walk in the woods behind our house and came across three bucks, which you can see in the original picture. Two of them were grooming each other. Bachelor bucks do this to strengthen social bonds, maintain herd harmony, and remove parasites (Google search). The third buck had shed one of its antlers -- our local unicorn.
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 100-400 lens at 400mm. 1/1000 sec at f/8, ISO 8000. Noise removal and sharpening in DxO Photolab. Further editing in Lightroom Classic and Photoshop. Branches removed in Photoshop.
5 comments posted
Hi Robert,
Great shot! Your image shows the affectionate and social bonding behaviors between two bucks. The antlers and similar size of those bucks indicate that they are pairing up as bachelor groups. Your post processing is well done with the focus on the bonding of the two bucks with antlers only. It's a very beautiful image!
Posted: 04/06/2026 04:24:52
Great shot! Your image shows the affectionate and social bonding behaviors between two bucks. The antlers and similar size of those bucks indicate that they are pairing up as bachelor groups. Your post processing is well done with the focus on the bonding of the two bucks with antlers only. It's a very beautiful image!
Posted: 04/06/2026 04:24:52
Robert, terrific work getting this from the original. Very sharp given the ISO 8000 original. The detail of the tongue is so clear in the final and barely noticeable in the original. A great example of what can be done with post-processing. Well done. Posted: 04/07/2026 03:03:31
Robert, the licking tongue makes the shot! Your cropping and editing has created a much more intimate view of the two bucks. Removing some of the branches and adding a vignette focuses my eyes on the bucks. Nice job of sharpening too. Well done, Robert! Posted: 04/07/2026 15:17:46
Robert, great image! The story here is so lovely and the glint in the eyes is perfect. And it is so sharp. It is an amazing nature image. I was wondering how you like the Nikor Z 100-400 lens? I have been told to get that lens with an extender instead of the 150-600 lens. Do you ever use an extender with it? Posted: 04/12/2026 22:35:02
Robert, What a great job you have done on that original photo. I could hardly find the bucks in it at all because it was so filled with brush and surrounding vegetation, all at the same tonality. Cropping as you did and darkening the surroundings made all the difference. I notice how sharp the two bucks are. Your description of their actions was quite interesting. You did a marvelous renovation with a really confusing original photo. Posted: 04/13/2026 20:36:52