It's been a while since my canoe and paddle felt the tanic water of the cypress-lined Santa Fe. I listened to sounds more than I searched for photographs to make. The insects were buzzing their little heads off, especially the cicadas. The forest was a riot of sounds waving up and down in intensity. Birds were as much a part of the chorus as the insects (maybe because the birds eat the bugs). An occasional fish, turtle, or tree-trunk-scurrying squirrel added to the tapestry of nature's song.

I had not made one single image – well, not one that I liked – for the first two hours. A few snap shots here and there of reflections and textures of the forest, but nothing that I would call photography. Then, as I rounded a bend, I was reminded that a photographer never knows what might happen next in the pursuit a moment.

At a shallow spot in the river, there stood a deer, bright from the sun against a backdrop of dark forest. It was feeding on river grass! I had a clean line of sight but was at least 100 yards away. I knew that any minute it would see me and promptly scamper away. So, with only the flow of the current guiding me forward, I made as many images as possible before the inevitable departure of this lovely creature.

In the midst of photographing the deer, I got the idea to shoot a quick panorama, handheld! My goal was to for you to see not just the deer, but the whole environment in which the deer lives, from the cypress tree on the left to the dark, shaded forest on the right, and everything in between. I really love this "look" because it shows what is important. Our environment is not about one animal or one plant. It's not about us. It's about all of it together. This is our world. This is your river. It belongs to all the people you love and the people you don't even know. It belongs to the deer and every other animal in the forest.

While watching this deer feed, amidst my elation of experiencing this moment, the thought occurred to me how high levels of Mercury have been found in the Santa Fe. And I couldn't help but wonder that, if one day this deer is to feed a human, that person, or that family, will consume mercury. Mercury is highly poisonous and very difficult to chelate from the body! Think about that for a minute. Think about how everything you see in this photograph is attached to you. Even if you never eat this deer, or deer in general. You drink water don't you? You breathe air don't you? Everything you see in this picture is a part of you, directly or indirectly, spiritually and physically. Soak up what you see in this image. Learn from it. Study it. The world is a beautiful place. See it, know it, feel it, love it.