A black-tailed doe in the soft early light

May is a wonderful time to be at Ridgefield, but it can be frustrating too, as the gates don’t open until well after sunrise and close before sunset. On a sunny day, that means the best light of the day is gone before you can even get onto the refuge and find an interesting subject.

But on a cloudy day, which we’ve had a lot of lately, you can still get some beautiful soft light even an hour after sunrise, and useable light for much of the day. I came across this black-tailed doe early one morning as she dined on plants in the River S Unit. It’s not exactly rare to see deer at the refuge, but not all that common either, and this is the first time I’ve been happy with one I’ve photographed there.

Too bad she didn’t have any young fawns with her! Or maybe she did, I would have never seen them in the tall grass.