This was the last time I saw her.
On this encounter on my way home from work, I did not speak to her as I had for years said, "It's okay baby. It's okay," as a mantra and only that. Silence alone made this odd for us.
Finally, the community had brought in snipers to 'harvest' deer at night from stands. This felt like it changed the relationship the deer had with the people and for me with this doe. I wanted to portray this uneasiness that I felt so it...
more »This was the last time I saw her.
On this encounter on my way home from work, I did not speak to her as I had for years said, "It's okay baby. It's okay," as a mantra and only that. Silence alone made this odd for us.
Finally, the community had brought in snipers to 'harvest' deer at night from stands. This felt like it changed the relationship the deer had with the people and for me with this doe. I wanted to portray this uneasiness that I felt so it would feel unsettling to viewers and intimate with an individual animal. It was not possible to get through police lines at night as paid enforcers dressed in black in public parks baited deer in pens then shot them in the head. Police threatened any one near the shoot zones with arrest.
She's not actually fearful here. But wary of my odd move to walk up behind her for the first time. This is the last frame I made as she turned to continued walking away from me. She had been at the top of an open hill in the park as I walked up on a trail. We had intersecting trajectories. I hesitated at about 15 feet and let her pass in front of me. Then as she sauntered perpendicular to my path I stepped up right behind her without threatening her or moving toward her off the trail. This was an unexpected move so she casually turned her head over her back to see what I was up to. As soon as she turned I starting making exposures hoping she would not move as the 1/6th of a second hand held exposure made this unlikely to work. I was disappointed that she turned and walked away thinking I did not get an image.
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