Scotland | Part III

There are many wild and domestic animals in Scotland. They include Puffins, fox, Red stag deer, cattle, sheep to name a few. Going into the trip I knew there was a potential to be able to photograph Highland cattle and the majestic Red stag. I was fortunate enough to run into both.

The locals refer to the Highland cattle as “Heilan Coo”. They are a Scottish breed with traits that include long horns and long wavy wooly coats that can be black, brown, yellow, white, gray, or tan. The Heilan Coo are raised primarily for their meat. They originated in the Highlands and Outer Hebrides islands of Scotland and were first referred to in the 6th century AD.

These guys were pretty gentle. They let us get up close and personal. They are not fenced in like our domestic animals in the U.S.

This dog was a really sweet Husky that was off leash and out in the woods with his human. I took several photos of him but like this one the best because the intensity of his stare makes him look like a wild wolf.

We have an overabundance of white tail deer in Minnesota and I have seen plenty of mule deer in Montana. The Red stag is the most majestic of them all! It is bigger than the other two breeds and has the posing skills of a top model. This image was shot from the road. We drove the van very slowly (so as not to scare them away) with the doors open so we wouldn’t miss the perfect moment. My weapon of choice when shooting deer is a Canon 5d Mark IV. No bullets; just a memory card and my 70-200 mm lens.