Unafraid Over Breakfast

As mentioned in a previous blog, A Morning With My Dad on the Mountain, my dad and I arose early one morning on vacation and set off in search of photographs, wildlife, and breakfast. As we reached the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park, we decided to search around the back roads of Grand Lake, CO. In theory we were searching for moose, but I think we both knew it was futile. So we went on another little side adventure, unsure about what exactly we were going to find.

As we turned around a bend, we were no more than 5 feet from a deer standing beside the road. Now remember, we were in a 15-passenger van which is neither quiet nor calming to wildlife. So I was shocked to see the deer stand perfectly still and gaze at us with indifference. It seemed we were just another couple of mildly annoying observers who stopped to gawk at her enjoying breakfast.

While staring at each other, I was able to take a few pictures, actually having to zoom out a little because we were so close. When we had our fill, we drove on discovering a dead end and nothing else very eventful. I am not a biologist or animal psychologist, but I thought about that deer as we drove back over the mountains to our cabin. Maybe she had become accustomed to people, maybe they had fed her before, or maybe she was simply fearless. Either way, this deer was no longer frightened by 15-passenger vans and men with zoom lenses.

But it was peaceful, the light was still soft, backlighting the deer as it munched happily on grass. So with pink ears and deep brown eyes, the deer enjoyed her breakfast with a little entertainment for her viewing pleasure; us. There was nothing but the soft hum of our engine even though houses were within viewing distance. There were no lawn mowers cutting the grass, no passing cars in the early morning, and no dogs barking. We simply had time to enjoy nature and one of God's creatures close up.

To get this picture, I used my Nikon VR 70-200mm, f/2.8 lense with my Nikon teleconverter TC-20E II. Even though the teleconverter stops down the f-stop a few notches, it was much cheaper to purchase than another telephoto lense with a longer focal length.

320mm, f/5.6, 1/800 s
Deer In Morning Light, Near Grand Lake, CO