Behind The shot With Mark Archibald
One photographer. One image. The story behind the shot.
We bought six acres of farmland twenty five years ago that had been fallow for maybe ten years. There were hundreds of very small trees of various ages, most in the two foot to five foot range. This provided an opportunity to revitalize the land back to meadows and woods.
I created a few walking paths, allowing us to eventually have a walkway through the woods as they grew. We planted several trees from the Arbor Foundation over the years. We also collected acorns, maple seeds, hickory nuts, and similar things, and would throw them into the woods on our walks. As a result, we now have over twenty five different species of trees on our property, many of which provide food for wildlife, including crabapples, juneberry, and various maples.
Because of this let nature take over with a little help approach, we are now frequented by a variety of animals including deer, opossum, wild turkeys, skunks, raccoon, red squirrels, and chipmunk. I have had bird feeders hanging up for many years, so a lot of these animals visit for the scraps of seed the birds knock to the ground underneath. I have also added a salt block near the edge of the woods for the deer.
In 2024 we added a very small pond, mainly as a water source for birds and animals. This has really opened up many more photo opportunities, with animals visiting the pond to bathe and drink.
Years ago I built a sunroom off the back of the house, and the woods begin about forty feet from that room. The sunroom has sliding glass doors. Dressing for the weather, I open the doors, hang camo netting, set up a tripod, and wait for an animal to arrive. Often I am able to photograph deer from thirty to fifty feet away. I shoot with a Canon R5 and a 100-500mm zoom, which gives me the flexibility for head shots or group shots of the deer and other animals.
I was rewarded this day to have a few deer come up, and they will often bring their fawns with them. It is such a joy to have the snow falling and watch the deer come through browsing on shrubs and trees.
In photographing animals, I have been trying to capture something other than a static portrait. The fawn's tongue provides a little more interest. The snow on the fawn tells a story as well.
You can follow Mark’s work on foto @markarchibald
