Fort Snelling State Park in Minnesota is about a 45-minute drive from my house. Someone tipped me off this past winter that the deer are very acclimated to humans, the park obviously being off-limits to hunting. Numerous treks there, I've been as close as 5 feet, one time setting down the DSLR and snapping photos with my phone!

A couple years ago I purchased the Nikon 200-500mm f5.6, then shortly after I scored a mint condition 500mm f5.6 PF. The 200-500 sadly sat on the shelf, I usually opted for the lighter weight lens. I know I'd take a bath selling it, so I've decided to keep it, and force myself to use it. And I'm glad I did! I was at Fort Snelling yesterday morning, and this guy was bedded down in some underbrush. I had to circle around to find a clear shot, the whole time he laid there not at all concerned with my presence. I was probably no more than 20 feet away, and glad I had the zoom, as this photo was taken at 200mm! If I'd taken the prime, I'd have nostril shots!

So once again, starting to re-learn how wonderful and versatile my 200-500mm is over my 500mm PF! Was out at my family land in northern Wisconsin this weekend, saw this young lad coming toward me. Having the zoom let me get a closer up portrait, and also zoom out and get more of a full body shot. Not perfect, a little bit of brush in front of his face on the second image, but the experience...I couldn't be happier!