Yang Guomei's photographs of milu. (Photos/Courtesy of Yang Guomei)
Getting the shot
It's not easy to get up close to these usually timid animals, and taking their pictures requires a great deal of patience and sometimes good luck. "Sometimes you can walk dozens of kilometers in the nature reserve without seeing a single milu," Yang said.
"And they're so timid that they will run away as soon as they spot a human being nearby, making all your waiting in vain," he said.
The variety of bugs, insects and sometimes snakes which are common at the nature reserve also pose a challenge to the photographer. "Even if it's over 35 degrees, I have to wrap myself up right up to the neck in order to prevent getting bug bites, which can be dangerous," he said.
However, knowledge of the deer's habits and personalities gives him an understanding of how important it is to seize his opportunities whenever he can. Once, he was walking in the nature reserve with several photographers when he suddenly spotted two deer across the river fighting each other with their antlers. It was the rut season, when bucks would fight each other to win dominance over the doe.
Yang quickly jumped into the river and began wading across the neck-high water to capture the moment, despite the other photographer's warning of danger.
That photograph depicting the deer fight eventually earned him dozens of national and international awards.
Over the years, Yang's photography style also shifted from documentary to artistic, using backlight, shadow and color to reflect his own feelings and understanding of the animal.
One of his more famous works is a photo of the back of a buck and a doe, heads tilted to the center as if they are looking affectionately at each other. Yang titled the photo "Love."
"That photograph marked a change in my photographing career - I started to incorporate more emotion in my photographs," he said.
At 72 years old, Yang shows no sign of stopping, insisting he will continue photographing milu, "and add more artistic and cultural flavor to my work."
