A Look Back

If you know anything about photographing big bucks you can appreciate a photo taken this close, of a big buck, and its laying down!  I was super thrilled with this picture and I think it has easily found itself atop the leader board for favorite photo of 2009.  I actually found this buck one morning laying about 20 feet to the left of where he is laying in the picture.  The reason that this is significant is that I saw him form a half mile away or better at about 7:30 am.  After working a full day I snapped this photo at about 5:30 pm.  Talk about a day of nail biting.  I found the big guy with no time to try for sneak because I had to be to work, so I left him laying and put in my time.  Seconds after the quiting bell sounded, I was going through the gears!  I hurried as fast as I could to get back to where I had seen the buck earlier that morning.  Upon arriving I jumped out of the truck, threw up the scope, and there he was laying in almost the exact spot he had been 9 hours earlier.  He was laying in a perfect spot for me to try a sneak, I had the advantage of having put a sneak on a deer in the same spot only 5 days earlier so I knew the terrain and I knew a route, it was just a matter of whether I could get there before the shadows cast by a setting sun consumed him.  I grabbed my gear and started running!  I had to cross 3 canyons in my travels to close the gap so to say I was out of breath and my legs burning is an understatement.  With each canyon I crossed, the shadows were steadily growing longer, I had to hurry.  Finally I was closing in on the last hill, once to the top I would be in perfect position, had the deer not moved.  I made myself stop and rest to steady my breathing and ready my camera equipment.  Many of you who have hunted likely know how hard it can be to make yourself stop, take a breath, think, and ready your gear.  With your heart beating 100 miles per hour it can be as difficult as opening those draw results!  After a short time I had gained my composure, the camera was adjusted to the light of the setting sun, and I crept my way slowly up the hill.  Now I wish there was something dramatic to fill the final sentences of this post but truth be told, I snuck to the position I had sat in only days ago and photographed this guy as he lay there looking around.  He was clueless to my presence.  In fact this is one of the last photos I snapped, because to get him to look  towards me, I had to scrape a small rock on another rock making a grating noise, which he picked up immediately.  I was able to snap some photos and leave him laying in his bed; this is my definition of complete success!  Hope you enjoy the photo, as I said its the 2009 winner in my book!

Campsite Delivery