Wildlife Photography - Deer and Birds at Bushy Park

The other day, me and @Lara_wildlife set out to Bushy park on the outskirts of London to see what we could find. Though having said that, I had a very specific idea for a photo in mind, in no small part thanks to a new wide angle lens of mine and it being the right time of year to see the rut!

[@franklawler7055]

I've really enjoyed your wildlife videos as you have proved so often that going out to take a specific shot or hunt down a particular beast doesn't always pan out and a plan "B" is always needed. That's the joy of it though, you never know what is round the corner. Thank you for sharing your exploits and your enthusiasm for your art is always refreshing.

[@MattGouldphotography]

Ha, yep, I'm a firm advocate for plan B, and in many cases plan C... And thank you so much, that's lovely of you to say! 😊

[@michaelgould2804]

Love this one, Matt; one of your best to date, I feel. Some great shots and vids. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@MattGouldphotography]

Thanks Mike! Working hard to improve the quality! 😂 Hopefully you can just watch this space and see them get better! Hope you're well!

[@bevleaross8736]

gorgeous captures

[@MattGouldphotography]

Thank you!!!! 👍 Much appreciated!

[@HannahStitfallWildlife]

LOLZ!!! Been away from YT for a bit and have just seen this! LOVE it! And tell Lara I have TOTALLY been there before with camera guys!! Also not having a CLUE what they said! Hahaha! You two make a marvellous team! xxxxxx

[@MattGouldphotography]

Well good to have you back on KZbin 😁. Glad you enjoyed the video, though it's not quite live is it 😉. Ha, I will pass the message onto Lara, but believe me there are a fair few technical terms she mentions that I have no idea about as well 😂

[@vw1camp713]

She knows a lot about the deer and is gorgeous!

[@MattGouldphotography]

hahahah yeah she is :D. I'm sure she will have enjoyed reading this message :D. Thanks for watching!

[@trondwestby]

Its so cool with wide-angle on birds and animals. I should do more of that. But its to easy to just use the telephotolense ;)

[@MattGouldphotography]

It's the first time I've done it. It's so satisfying! There is a guy on instagram who made me want to do it (Chris something I think). But it is hard to break free of the ease of telephoto I agree 😂

[@anson4924]

Lovely video! It is refreshing to see wildlife photographers shooting in group not alone😂

[@MattGouldphotography]

I have a small group that are planning something big, so we are trying to get used to being on camera together. I can say no more 😂. Great job finding that yellowing btw!

[@anson4924]

Really looking forward to that! Oh btw after checking with some local birding expert I found out it is just a greenshank with really yellowish legs lol Birds are so hard to ID😂

[@janswildlife9163]

Super!

[@MattGouldphotography]

Cheers Jan! Glad you liked it!

[@stephendarlington]

Many of the (red) deer are over on the Hampton side; its where they tend to be over summer. They come over occasionally, and now the rut is under way the stags and their harems are coming over to the side you were on more and more. The fallow are more on the north side of the park. Dont think they are culling more than usual, but they are less visible and more skittish because of the cull (not surprisingly). Not sure about that elk/deer interbreeding story; never heard of it before and cant find any reference to it. My understanding is that the deer have better antlers here than in the wild because of the health of the deer population; any deer with malformed antlers are the ones they cull. I only live a few minutes from BP so visit all the time - best time to visit is early morning on week days; for the light and to avoid dog walkers etc etc

[@MattGouldphotography]

Hi Stephen! That would make sense if they spend most of the summer in a different part. As for the cull, that's why I call it a theory 😂. Though it's worth pointing out I've been in September every time I've been and to me they seemed especially sparse but not really skittish. As for the antlers, I can confirm this is true. I spent some time as a volunteer ranger, in which time I worked with a man that had done a ten year study on red deer. Though he did tell me that southern deer can be up to a third larger due to the easier conditions down here. He also said that the deer in royal parks like richmond and bushy had historically been interbred with elk giving them more points than usual. Very jealous you get to live so close to this place though!!! Thanks for your comment, airways happy to chat 😊👍

[@stephendarlington]

Thanks for the reply Matt, interesting to hear about the elk interbreeding. I think the deer behaviour has slowly altered over the last few years; as the park has got busier, the deer have moved to the quieter parts of the park. Also with the hot summer, the deer were being fed (much like they are over winter) and the fallows in particular now are staying over in that area of the park. Keep up the videos; your enthusiasm for nature carries the video even when you dont always get the shots you wanted.

[@jamest-p5580]

I was recently at bushy on the 22nd first time and wont be the last its awesome great videos by the way keep it up

[@MattGouldphotography]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it James, it's a pretty cool place :)

[@benfairbairn1505]

I love going to busy park to photograph deer. But where would people recommend I go so that there are no man made things nearby?

[@willburton6987]

Just found your KZbin channel. I loved this video and I'm looking forward to more!! #newsubscriber

[@MattGouldphotography]

Thanks Eliza! Glad you're enjoying it! And i'm chuffed to have you onboard ! :D I will try not to disapoint with future videos :)

[@kieranlehane]

Great video mate! Let me know if you ever come to wollaton park or bradgate :D

[@MattGouldphotography]

Cheers Kieran, much appreciated! And I will 😊👍

[@miriamgligoric6973]

hey im a beginner to photography and i was hoping u could give me a few tips and advice on which cameras and lenses i should get, thanks for your time :)

[@MattGouldphotography]

Well well well miriam! Welcome to the hobby! Fristly, I hope you are enjoying it! Second, I dont really like giving specific camera advice, its so dependant on experience, cost and the person. I would say second hand DSLR (usually canon or nikon) is usually the best place to start. That keeps things simple, cheap, reliable and there is plenty of info about all the models and lenses already out there. Hope you find/have found something that works for you. :)

[@devanclarke-sheward3861]

Great video mate, what settings did you shoot the slo mo at? looks lovely

[@MattGouldphotography]

Cheers, 120 frames per second I believe, other than that I have no idea 😂

[@herdd]

I love bushy park! I've sat on that very bench :) Thanks so much for sharing! I've subbed. I make travel content myself, if you're into that kind of thing? Let's stay in touch!

[@MattGouldphotography]

Thanks for the comment! 😊 glad you also share a love of bushy park, it really is a cool place! 😊

[@herdd]

My pleasure! :) I always loved it!

[@javierceron3456]

If you had to choose between a Canon 100-400mm IS Mark ii or Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L which would you recommend?

[@MattGouldphotography]

The 100-400 every day of the week 😊

[@javierceron3456]

Matt Gould cool! Thx

[@telkirton]

Where is this park please as Google Maps list 5/6 Bushy Parks, thanks and great video Matt.

[@antsfinland2760]

The bushy park they are in is one of the royal parks

[@MattGouldphotography]

Good Day Tel! This one is in south london... roughly :D. There is only one near there as far as I am aware :)

[@jessicawatkiss2115]

Has the rut started down there?

[@MattGouldphotography]

Early days in the rut, this was filmed Wednesday and things were almost getting started for the reds. Though I think the fallow start earlier and we just got lucky 😊

[@user-pd2gu6li2n]

He is rubbing the velvet off his horns.