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06.04.2018 Nara, Japan

I am usually not very brave about sharing my photography even thought here in Japan I have taken it up more systematically both in sense of equipment and in sense of theory/practice/knowledge.I have taken tons of amazing photos of Japan as this country is purely amazing and so different from what I have been used to but I think of all the photos, this one I am the proudest and therefore after long consideration I thought I could actually share it here.

Nara is small historical town not far from Kyoto nor Osaka. It has many old historical shrines and temples and is very famous for... its deers. Basically the area of shrines and temples in the city is surrounded with huge park area where wild deer roam free. There are people living around, there are cars but there are tons of deer also. It is actually one of the lures why tourist go there - to see the famous deer and feed them. Those deer have been taught how to bow before someone and then they expect to get deer cracker that is specially sold near the areas where they can be find (I think the city cleverly solved two problems - giving tourist amazing experience to share and promote the city + feed the deer population using tourists' money ). But they can also be quite aggressive - if the deer think you have the cracker, they will follow you and not stop. And if you give a little, they want more... And if they do not get, they will use their hoofs or bite you instead (or eat anything else you may have.. like tourist brochures )

This spring I was traveling during the blooming of sakuras - the famous season in Japan when everything is crowded because for a week everything is white and pink and looks amazing (to be honest the sight of full bloom sakura is amazing). I was in Nara at the end of the one week and most of the trees had already passed their peak. But there were few trees in their best, pedals falling as the wind played with their branches. The sight was amazing but.. as expected - hords of tourists. So it looked like impossible to take shot without any distraction. So, I came up with a plan. My husband managed to get some crackers and sneak back to me without being eaten alive by cute hord of Bambies Then, I positioned myself around the hilltop where I could see sakuras but hide tourists behind the hill (basically, second after taking this shot, someone walked up the hill.. so this shot is the only "good" one of hundreds I tried to take). Then my husband, using a cracker, lured deer to follow him, got it to the spot I could take a shot and left cookies on the ground, disappearing from my frame. After finishing the crackers, the deer rose her head, wondering - where did the human with the crackers go? Basically, that was the moment this photo was taken. Looks amazing but it was actually really hard to take...

When I got back and started going over all the photos I took, I really hoped there was at least few good ones but no.. it was tons of deers moving too fast, someone showing up behind the hills.. something else.. and then, there was this..

Description

06.04.2018 Nara, Japan

I am usually not very brave about sharing my photography even thought here in Japan I have taken it up more systematically both in sense of equipment and in sense of theory/practice/knowledge.I have taken tons of amazing photos of Japan as this country is purely amazing and so different from what I have been used to but I think of all the photos, this one I am the proudest and therefore after long consideration I thought I could actually share it here.

Nara is small historical town not far from Kyoto nor Osaka. It has many old historical shrines and temples and is very famous for... its deers. Basically the area of shrines and temples in the city is surrounded with huge park area where wild deer roam free. There are people living around, there are cars but there are tons of deer also. It is actually one of the lures why tourist go there - to see the famous deer and feed them. Those deer have been taught how to bow before someone and then they expect to get deer cracker that is specially sold near the areas where they can be find (I think the city cleverly solved two problems - giving tourist amazing experience to share and promote the city + feed the deer population using tourists' money ). But they can also be quite aggressive - if the deer think you have the cracker, they will follow you and not stop. And if you give a little, they want more... And if they do not get, they will use their hoofs or bite you instead (or eat anything else you may have.. like tourist brochures )

This spring I was traveling during the blooming of sakuras - the famous season in Japan when everything is crowded because for a week everything is white and pink and looks amazing (to be honest the sight of full bloom sakura is amazing). I was in Nara at the end of the one week and most of the trees had already passed their peak. But there were few trees in their best, pedals falling as the wind played with their branches. The sight was amazing but.. as expected - hords of tourists. So it looked like impossible to take shot without any distraction. So, I came up with a plan. My husband managed to get some crackers and sneak back to me without being eaten alive by cute hord of Bambies Then, I positioned myself around the hilltop where I could see sakuras but hide tourists behind the hill (basically, second after taking this shot, someone walked up the hill.. so this shot is the only "good" one of hundreds I tried to take). Then my husband, using a cracker, lured deer to follow him, got it to the spot I could take a shot and left cookies on the ground, disappearing from my frame. After finishing the crackers, the deer rose her head, wondering - where did the human with the crackers go? Basically, that was the moment this photo was taken. Looks amazing but it was actually really hard to take...

When I got back and started going over all the photos I took, I really hoped there was at least few good ones but no.. it was tons of deers moving too fast, someone showing up behind the hills.. something else.. and then, there was this..