I had an incredible experience photographing wildlife a few weeks ago at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. As I was driving slowly along the auto tour road through the Sandtown Bottoms, I suddenly came upon a beautiful lone Whitetail Doe.
She was initially standing on the left side of the road but as soon as she spotted my truck, she bounded across to the right side. Clearly aware of my presence, she was alert but not skittish. To my surprise, instead of running off, she actually started approaching my parked truck!
I carefully opened the driver’s side door to use as a stabilizer and was able to get off some great up close shots of her as she came nearer. I was amazed that the door movement didn’t startle her at all. She paused for a few seconds and looked right at me before disappearing into the brush.
The first photo shows her full body as I captured her initial interest. In the second shot, I zoomed in tight as she got closer to capture her innocence and beauty in detail. The moments I shared with this gentle doe are ones I’ll treasure forever. I feel so fortunate to have been able to observe her in her natural habitat and get such personal photos.
Days like this are why I love photographing wildlife. You never know when an incredible encounter might happen. I can’t wait to go back to Sequoyah and see what other moments I can capture!
Image Information (Second Image):
- Date: 10/18/23
- Time: 7:56 AM
- Camera: Canon EOS R5
- Lens: Canon RF 100-500 mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM
- ISO: 12800
- Aperture: 7.1
- Shutter: 1/500
- Exp. Comp.: +0.3
- Lens (mm): 500
- Program: Manual