File this one under “best picture of a deer I have to date”.

   Last week I mentioned that I had been out shooting with some other local photographers and had managed to photograph a couple of bucks.  The group of guys I was with decided it would be best to pair up and break off to have a better chance of not scaring away any deer we might find.  I joined up with Brian Shults, whom several other people in the community have started calling “the deer whisperer”.  We headed off in one direction while the other guys went in a different direction.  Within a couple of minutes, Brian and I had stumbled on some deer and it became immediately apparent how much time Brian has spent photographing these animals.  Brian had names for both the bucks (one seemed to want to walk right up to him, which was entertaining), knew exactly where they would want to go, and while I never saw him whisper to them, he was talking to them the entire time we were with them.  🙂 Very cool stuff!  Both bucks were totally relaxed while we were with them and posed for us many times; it almost felt like we were cheating!  It definitely pays to know your subject.

–Dan Thompson