Cooling the Blood

I was photographing Red Deer in Richmond Park during the rut on a particularly bright and warm October day. In the afternoon, I decided to move out of the harsh unflattering light to photograph in the shade of the woods when I came across a Stag with its harem. The Stag was taking a well-deserved break wallowing in a cool mud bath when another Stag entered the scene. The calmness turned to frantic activity as the Stag dragged itself out of mud to chase off its rival sending Hinds off in all directions. I was photographing the action from a safe distance when the Stag came towards me, looked me straight in the eye and bellowed. Where it stopped a shaft of sunlight fell across its face illuminating its eye and I was able to capture this frame filling image.