Member Monday Featuring Floyd Schleyhahn
In today’s Member Monday, Floyd Schleyhahn shares his story about finding this adorable fawn—and snagging the shot.
About the Photo
Title: New Neighbor
My wife and I recently purchased a golf cart and in the evenings, we drive around our rural community of Pawnee, Illinois, enjoying the scenery, landscapes, sunsets and all that nature has to offer. After about a week of these evening outings, I decided I should start taking my camera because of all the wildlife we had been seeing.
On this particular night, we stopped to watch this fawn who was initially at about 50 yards out. We could see that our golf cart piqued her interest because she began walking towards it. Without making any sudden or fast movements, I slowly and gently picked up my Canon 7D Mark II with a 300mm 2.8L II lens and began firing off some shots in burst mode as she neared our vehicle. Eventually, she became too close and my 300mm was too much, so I just set the camera down and enjoyed the moment, marveling at her innocence and curiosity.
Gear and Software
Canon 7D Mark II, 300mm 2.8L II, Lightroom, and Photoshop were used.
Photography Preferences
The lighting in this photo is what I like the most. Prior to this shot, the majority of the wildlife images I had taken during our nightly rides were in direct sunlight, resulting in blown-out highlights in both the background and on the animals themselves. On this particular night, both the sun AND the deer were in the best spots at the same time.
Photography Inspiration
Scott Kelby and Serge Ramelli are the two photographers I consider as my mentors. Any course they teach, regardless of the topic, I take. Travel photography (landscape) is what I consider my specialty and is what I enjoy the most.
Favorite KelbyOne Classes
This is a difficult answer to answer because each class is unique and I learn so much from each one I take. However, as I reflect upon all the classes I have taken with KelbyOne, the one that I feel I learned the most from is the very first class I took, and that is Scott Kelby’s Travel Photography: A Photographer’s Guide to Paris.
For me, capturing the best possible images from the places we visit is important, especially when I know we will probably never come back and I will only get “one-shot”, no pun intended. This class, as well as all the other travel photography courses Scott teaches how to get the best shots and make the most out of any situation, be it the weather or distracting tourists.
Connect with Floyd
You can connect with Floyd via his Instagram, Twitter, or website.
Be sure to submit your photos for a chance to receive a Member Monday feature of your own.
