Ridgefield Deer

A black-tailed deer doe eats plants near the auto tour at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

The Soft 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.

A close-up view of a black-tailed deer doe in the rain at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

The Soft Light

After posting above that I finally had gotten a picture of a deer at Ridgefield that I liked, the very next morning I arrived early in a heavy rain and found a doe and buck just past the entrance gate and before getting onto the refuge proper. I parked my car in a little pullout, rolled down the window, and draped a towel over the door to protect the insides from the rain. I watched the two of them for quite some time, I had the refuge to myself as apparently others don't like the rain as much as I do.

I got this close look at the damp doe as she grazed in a small meadow at the top of the refuge. There used to be a lot of other meadows in the area even just a couple of years ago but they've been plowed under as Ridgefield has exploded into a bedroom community for Portland and Vancouver.