I have been running a number of small group workshops this autumn to try and capture the magic of the red and fallow deer Rut. 2013 has been a really weird year in terms of the weather and the plant world’s response to it.

This autumn has been incredibly warm so far, not a sniff of a frost and not too far of the warmest on record. The other fly in the ointment of the rut is that 2013 is a bumper year for acorns, in fact for many fruits and berries.

This has had the effect of keeping the deer far more inside the woodlands than normal where they happily graze the oaks bounties all day. So the end result is that this has been one of the hardest years to produce images. Saying that it did mean that we tried harder to work the opportunities when they did present themselves and the knowledge built up over years has been a real help in planning each day. Thanks to all those who have joined me this year, your company has been great and made for some really enjoyable days out.