First post here! Hoping if people can tell me if any of the following shots work or not. I took some closeups as well, but want to know if the "wide" views work.
I prefer the 2nd --- the houses in the first are distracting to me...perhaps working with a crop from the original, of the lower right quadrant, you can get a tighter frame on the buck and lighten his coat to pick up some detail, too. As is, for me, there is too much competition among various possible subjects.
I personally like the houses in the background. They give a context that makes it more than just another photo of a deer. (Not that getting a good photo of a deer is easy...) I like the deer's pose in the second shot better though. Would prefer that pose on the framing of the first photo.
Also, since the whole scene is relatively unsaturated, I suggest going all the way and make these shots black and white. A blue filter, perhaps with some yellow, would probably work pretty well.