I've only been taking "cam pics" for one season - but have 20+ seasons under my belt. My opinion always has been, and is bolstered by the cam pics form last year - is that fromn Sept-Nov. Sooooooooooo Many male deer are re-locating, that its normal to have only one sighting of some deer in this period. In fact most bucks (especially young bucks) that you observed during the summer will "disappear" by fall.

I do think the camera flash scares the deer - but not any more than a bolt of lightning, or a tree limb falling. However smart deer seem to be, they just aren't able to theorize the origin of the flash.