"I choose to capture Gift the week before he sheds his velvet. All of his energy for the past 5 months has gone into growing his magnificent antlers. He is shedding his rustic summer coat. Beneath is the most beautiful taupe cashmere. For a few days this coat is so short I can see every rib, every muscle, his shoulder blade. The testosterone is starting to flow and his neck starting to swell. He still has an innocent face, which will soon become 'the fighting warrior' as the rut begins. He is headed somewhere and something holds his eye. He is caught in motion; his upper body on the rise before the fall."

Rikki Morley Saunders