A Privilege to Witness

By Rachel Moore

Photos by Michael Creger, Jr. and Rachel Moore

Imagine driving down a snow-covered road in southeastern Idaho when out of nowhere a big 4×4 buck steps in front of the vehicle. You slam on the brakes and just stare at this amazing creature, which looks back at you for a brief moment before he continues to cross the road. That happened to us, and the encounter was an inspiration that set us on a new path.

As avid hunters we appreciate all animals, and such a sighting one day made us realize we wanted to capture these beautiful creatures on camera. The buck that had stepped in front of us was in a location frequented by what are technically known as trophy deer. It’s an unusual situation, because the land is public but part of it is occupied by a church, so in a sense it’s private. Very limited hunting is allowed: only five deer tags are released annually. When Michael and I got together about three years ago, we realized that this trophy zone was great news for us.