Richmond Park — Late Rut, First Encounter
In late autumn 2024, I made my first field visit to Richmond Park during the closing phase of the deer rut. As one of the largest urban deer parks in Europe, Richmond presents a unique challenge: intense wildlife behaviour unfolding within a highly public, human-shaped landscape.
The day was defined by harsh weather. Persistent rain, cold temperatures, and flat, low light placed immediate constraints on both filming and photography. The conditions were demanding for camera work, with constant moisture management and limited visibility, while the short autumn daylight compressed the available working window.
Travel was part of the process. Reaching the park via public transport from Brighton made this a long, continuous field day, requiring careful energy and time management. Once on location, movement was deliberate and measured, balancing observation with the need to reposition efficiently across a large, open space.
This project marked an important stage in my practice: consciously finding balance between video and stills in a live, unpredictable situation. I worked to anticipate behaviour rather than react to it, making deliberate choices about when to film sustained action and when to isolate single moments photographically. At the same time, avoiding people within the frame required patience, timing, and compositional discipline — often waiting for brief alignments when animals separated visually from footpaths and crowds.
It was also my first focused attempt at refining composition under pressure: using distance, layering, and compression to simplify complex scenes and to emphasise posture, spacing, and interaction rather than environment alone.
This project reflects an early but formative step in my wildlife fieldwork — learning to operate in difficult weather, crowded public spaces, and time-limited conditions while maintaining a documentary mindset. The resulting imagery prioritises behaviour and atmosphere, shaped as much by constraint as by opportunity.
