stag – In Photos dot Org

A Stag and his hinds

I visited the National Park in Killarney, Co Kerry, today to photograph the deer with other members of Blarney Photography Club, and a few friends.

A stag looks on at a horse and trap full of tourists in the background

There weren’t many stags or deer to be seen, apart from in a field up a hill beyond the Castlerosse Park Resort golf course. We found this stag near the Torc Waterfall side of Muckross House. No other stags nearby, they were all calm and relaxed. I think the stag was slightly worried about the silly humans pointing long lenses at him from some 300m away. He needn’t have worried.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	600mm
ISO	1000
Shutter speed	1/1000s

The Deer of the Rut

A stag looks towards me. One of his eyes is weeping and injured. He has grass in his antlers.

A few photos of the deer in Killarney National Park a year ago when I visited there with Blarney Photography Club. These have been sitting in my “Unpublished” collection since then, so I might as well make them public.

Aperture	ƒ/6.3
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	600mm
ISO	3200
Shutter speed	1/1000s

A stag and his grass

A stag digging into grass to decorate his antlers

A stag with grass on his antlers, thought to make him more attractive to the female of the species.

A stag buries his head in grass, to decorate his antlers and make himself more attractive to female deer.

Killarney National Park, October 2023.

Aperture	ƒ/6.3
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	514.7mm
ISO	1250
Shutter speed	1/500s

To be a stag in October

A stag with grass in his antlers look on at stags and other deer out of the picture

We went to Killarney National Park this morning to photograph the annual rutting. This is when stags come down from the mountain and look for romance and court any nearby female deer. And they’re quite vocal about it.

This particular guy was on one side of the tarmac path occupied by us human photographers, and it didn’t occur to us that he wanted to get to the other side, where a large group of younger stags and some does had gathered.

In frustration, he bellowed, pawed the ground, and ripped grass from the ground.

A stag walks across a tarmac path, previously occupied by this photographer. Other photographers are seen in the background.

When we finally realised what he wanted, we made a hasty exit to the side. We watched this huge, powerful creature walk over ground we recently vacated.

Unfortunately, the other deer, male and female, all ran from him. None stayed around to challenge him. If you look carefully, you’ll see his right eye is weeping and injured. He has lost the use of that eye, whether through infection or injury, but it hasn’t slowed him down.

Aperture	ƒ/6.3
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	473.2mm
ISO	1600
Shutter speed	1/1000s

A stag in the rain

A stag in the field opposite Muckross House in Killarney on a very wet October afternoon this year.

I was there with Blarney Photography Club and after a not so successful morning we retreated to the café in Muckross Garden Restaurant for lunch.

It was still raining afterwards, but some of us stopped outside to photograph this stag. In a lull in the rain I stupidly ran out with only a light jacket and took cover under a tree that was still heavy with leaves. Got a few shots and then the heavens opened. Got a bit soaked!

Totally worth it. Great day out with great people.

Aperture	ƒ/6.3
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	600mm
ISO	2000
Shutter speed	1/1000s

The stag in the field

A stag and a few hind in a field in Killarney. Far off in another field.

Aperture	ƒ/6.3
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	600mm
ISO	3200
Shutter speed	1/1000s

The stag in the English Market

I remember seeing a shot Alkos took of this stag or deer on a wall near the English Market in Cork. I must dig up a link to it. Anyway, that shot was on my mind when I took this photo and I really like how it turned out!

Aperture	ƒ/4
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	1600
Shutter speed	1/50s