Curious Yosemite Buck

My go-to adventure buddy and I drove to Yosemite for the day last Fall to scout out some cool photo opportunities. As we were driving, we saw a buck standing in the middle of a meadow. We immediately got out of the car and slowly started making our way over to him. I wanted to be careful because you never should approach a potentially aggressive wild animal. But against my better judgment, I wanted to risk it. I slowly walked toward him without making eye contact, and when I got to be about 10ft away, I just started taking photos. He didn't seem to notice me at first, but after a couple minutes, he would hear a shutter click and then turn his head to me. Then, he nonchalantly started walking over to where I was at. He sensed I wasn't a threat and let his guard down. He literally walked right up to my lens and was looking straight into my camera. Initially, I couldn’t take any photos because my autofocus wouldn't focus on a subject that close. Also, he was fogging up my lens whenever he would let out a large exhale. Finally, I started focusing manually and began clicking the shutter rapidly for as long as he was there. What was crazy was that he hung out with me for so long that I even had time to switch lenses and start back up. There was a mutual trust that I wasn't going to abuse with quick movements or loud noises. Finally, he walked away and I just kind of stood there processing what happened. I've never experienced something like that. I'm not a wildlife photographer by any means, but it gave me a newfound respect for those that are, because having a connection like that completely changed the way I perceive photographing wildlife and nature as a whole.
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