Bridge of Orchy

Scotland

Posted by Alex Nichol in Photography
19th Oct 2025

 

I travelled to the Bridge of Orchy in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland to photograph the Red Stag Rut in all its wild glory. It's autumn, which means it's mating season. Big males compete for breeding rights with harems of females bellowing, posturing and clashing antlers to prove their dominance. While you can see plenty of well-fed stags in deer parks up and down the country, there's nothing quite like seeing them in the wild.

Ordinarily, the rutting season peaks in October, but this year the weather has been particularly mild, so there wasn't much fighting going on. To add to that, one of our party decided to come along dressed in their day-glow mountaineering jacket, which meant we couldn't get anywhere near the animals without being spotted.

That said, the with the help of the spectacular Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS telephoto lens and 2x Teleconverter that I had rented for the weekend, I did manage to capture a few nice shots before our fluorescent friend scared the herd away.

Photograph of Red Deer at Bridge of Orchy, Scotland by Alex Nichol
Sony A7R V + Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM + Sony 2x Teleconverter
Photograph of Red Deer at Bridge of Orchy, Scotland by Alex Nichol
Sony A7R V + Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM + Sony 2x Teleconverter
Photograph of Red Deer at Bridge of Orchy, Scotland by Alex Nichol
Sony A7R V + Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM + Sony 2x Teleconverter
Photograph of Red Deer at Bridge of Orchy, Scotland by Alex Nichol
Sony A7R V + Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM + Sony 2x Teleconverter
Photograph of Red Deer at Bridge of Orchy, Scotland by Alex Nichol
Sony A7R V + Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM + Sony 2x Teleconverter
Photograph of Red Deer at Bridge of Orchy, Scotland by Alex Nichol
Sony A7R V + Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM + Sony 2x Teleconverter
Photograph of Red Deer at Bridge of Orchy, Scotland by Alex Nichol
Sony A7R V + Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM + Sony 2x Teleconverter
Photograph of Red Deer at Bridge of Orchy, Scotland by Alex Nichol
Sony A7R V + Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM + Sony 2x Teleconverter
Photograph of Red Deer at Bridge of Orchy, Scotland by Alex Nichol
Sony A7R V + Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM + Sony 2x Teleconverter
Photograph of Red Deer at Bridge of Orchy, Scotland by Alex Nichol
Sony A7R V + Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM + Sony 2x Teleconverter
Photograph of Red Deer at Bridge of Orchy, Scotland by Alex Nichol
Sony A7R V + Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM + Sony 2x Teleconverter
Photograph of Red Deer at Bridge of Orchy, Scotland by Alex Nichol
Sony A7R V + Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM + Sony 2x Teleconverter
Photograph of Red Deer at Bridge of Orchy, Scotland by Alex Nichol
Sony A7R V + Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM + Sony 2x Teleconverter
Photograph of Red Deer at Bridge of Orchy, Scotland by Alex Nichol
Sony A7R V + Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM + Sony 2x Teleconverter
Photograph of Red Deer at Bridge of Orchy, Scotland by Alex Nichol
Sony A7R V + Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM

These photographs were taken with the Sony A7R V, the Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM and the Sony 2.0x Teleconverter.

Equipment used
Camera
Sony A7R V
Lenses
Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM
 
Sony 2x Teleconverter
Filters
Kase Wolverine Magnetic

All images © Alex Nichol 2025 - all rights reverved.

About the photographer

I'm Alex Nichol. I'm an amateur photographer from the North of England. For me, photography is a way to share what I love most about the world. That includes everything, from family and friends, to wild animals and breathtaking places... or maybe just how the sun twinkles on a weed in my back garden. It's all fair game.