This has sort of become a tradition of sorts around our place.  Come to visit and we’re very likely going to Richmond Park.  I think we both just really love it there but need some sort of excuse to make the trip out.  Especially now as it’s a couple of bus rides away.

We had much more success finding the deer than we did at our last family outing.  The winter weather had killed off most of the shoulder-height ferns so there wasn’t anywhere for the deer to hide.  Well, apart from being somewhere in the vastness that is Richmond Park.  Fortunately we didn’t have to wait too long to find them, we just needed to be willing to get our shoes a bit muddy.  It has definitely rained this year!

I’ve been enough times now that I can act as a bit of a mini tour-guide, provided I can keep to the general middle area of the park.  We did a wide loop around the ponds and through as many of the treed in areas as we could.  I enjoy the wide open spaces as much as the next prairie raised lad, but the bitter winds had us seeking as much shelter as possible in order to prolong our hike.

All in all a very successful deer spotting sojourn.  I think mom was quite happy with the wildlife, which is saying something for someone who grew up in Vancouver with the Rocky Mountains on her doorstep.  There are a few more images in the gallery, but they’re mostly family images.  If you’re after more deer photos, I was at the park with gusto earlier in the year to get my fill of deer shots.

The good weather has been holding up and I think we’re actually going to experience a bit of summer here this year.  Danni has been telling Mama about some of the amazing parks in London and the possibility of  seeing a few wild deer in Richmond park had piqued her interest, so off we went!

Our previous forays to Richmond had been in the winter months, so spotting the deer was easy.  There was no tall grass for them to hide in, and I think a certain amount of luck meant that we stumbled across them without even really trying.  This time was to prove much different, and we several hours scouring the far reaches of the park in hopes of spotting the elusive critters.

We did find some other interesting things to see, like the massive mushroom/toadstool above plus several birds and the usual multitude of squirrels.  The park itself isn’t too shabby either.

At our last turn making our way to the exit, we finally found them!  A group of about a half dozen deer bounded through the tall grasses (How tall?  The deer in the above image is standing up) and we chased them for a bit until we managed to get a few photos.  All in all, a successful day out.

Of course, it can’t truly be considered a successful day until you’ve found yourself inside one of the many, many local pubs.  Of course, we decided that instead of staying local we’d make the trek across the entirety of London and bring Mama to our favourite pub: The Prospect of Whitby. Such a great location, definitely worth a look if you ever find yourself deep in Wapping territory.

More photos in the gallery!

Danni and I made the lengthy bus ride from West Brompton to what was worryingly describable as a ‘ghetto’ on Sunday.  Fortunately, the ghetto was just where the bus terminated and London’s lovely Richmond Park was just down the street and around the corner.

We don’t make it out this far that often, so we had a purpose in mind.  A lot of my fellow photographer friends come to the park in order to photograph the wildlife like the many, many deer that can be found here, but we were after a doe of a different kind.

Danni was kind enough to get dolled up and pose for a few photos in the chilly winter air.  She was a real trooper as it was only about 3°C and she hadn’t actually picked an overly warm outfit for the day.

All three images were shot roughly the same way.  One great, big softbox sporting 2 of Canon’s 580 flashes as a main light, and a single, unmodified flash (another 580) as a rim light.

Normally this is where I’d link to the remaining images in the gallery, but as it was so cold we only took about 15 shots in total and quite a few of those showed my poor wife visibly shaking from the cold.  You’ll have to make due with 3 images I’m afraid!