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Dogwood Foliage, Fall Colors,
Hueston Woods State Park, Ohio
This photograph was made on a calm October evening, near dusk. I was drawn to the deep reds of the Flowering Dogwood foliage, the leaves large and hanging straight down.
The problem with the larger leaved foliage is that, when shooting with fine grained photographic film, I have to use a very slow shutter speed to get an adequate depth of focus. The closer you are to the foliage, the more noticeable the slightest of movements.
In this instance, with a 35mm camera on a heavy tripod, the name of the game was to wait for that split second between gusts of breeze when all was perfectly still. Then, with fingers on the cable release and holding my breath, I released the shutter.
On this particular evening, I was being watched. My rapt concentration on my subject was interrupted by a vibration through the soft forest floor, followed by a soft sound. Thump, it went softly but insistently. After several seconds' pause, thump it went again.
I had been found out, discovered by a browsing whitetail deer enjoying its evening meal. When they come upon an animal they're annoyed (but not alarmed) by, deer will stamp a forefoot, probably trying to make the object of their concern move, thereby revealing itself.
This deer either noticed too much human-like movement, or finally caught wind of my scent. It "blew", that trademark sound where they blow forcefully out there nose, warning any nearby deer, not to mention everything else within earshot.
Still, I enjoyed the company, stern as it treated me. It lived there, not me. I was only a visitor, grateful for the rich aroma of decaying hardwood leaves. The smell of autumn, of harvest.
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