Whenever I plan on photographing with a specific goal, I always have something really great happen that was completely unexpected. In this case, I was at this location to shoot Japanese Red-crowned Cranes (Grus japonensis) While I was there, I became somewhat disenchanted with taking pictures of a ton of really big birds that were, for the most part, just standing around. One of the people that took us to the location pulled me aside and told me we should set up our cameras in a particular spot so we could get pictures of the cranes as they started to leave for their roosts as the sun began setting. I decided to practice shooting birds in flight, trying to get different effects of motion blur, either of the subject or the background, while I was waiting for the cranes. I took shots of ducks, swans, hawks, and eagles. At one moment, I looked across the field to see this male Sika Deer (Cervus nippon) moving through the brush. It stepped out into the light of the setting sun, paused, and looked straight at me. It was at that spot for 3-4 seconds, tops. Then it began running to find some more cover. However, that 3-4 seconds was enough for me to get this picture. It amazes me how often the concepts my Dad taught me, when I was a child, about hunting, now apply to a successful photo outing...practice, planning, patience, and pliability (adaptability).
A Sika Deer (Cervus nippon) that stepped out of the forest while I was photographing cranes.
