Gently does it
Bret Charman perfects the art of stealthily capturing roe deer
Bret Charman
5 | WILDLIFE
For the past five years, I have been working within the grounds of a family-owned estate in the heart of the South Downs National Park, specialising in photographing the roe deer that call it home. I must have watched these solitary deer for thousands of hours, learning their behaviour and mastering my approach in photographing them.
The peak season for photographing roe deer is between May and September, before and their annual rut. During this time, I help people learn the art of photographing this elusive species and spend far too much time hiding in ditches, creeping through fields of wheat and barley and always trying to keep downwind. The most important lesson, of all those I have learned, is to let the deer come to me after I make an initial approach.