I’ve travelled 650 miles north on three trains and two buses from Cornwall, to the Scottish Highlands all because I read a newspaper article about how deer culling has divided communities in Scotland. I’m not here to take sides however, I’m here to make a documentary about the daily life of Cameron Waite, a 26 year old deer stalker in the Cairngorms National Park.

Days start early for deer stalkers, and this far north it still feels like night when we set out on a February morning. Nothing but open fells, heather and snow-peaked mountains surround us as I trudge along behind Cameron and his black lab Fergus. They don’t seem to notice it, but a bitter chill is making it difficult to perform small motor functions without several layers - the trouble is, my several layers are making fine camera adjustments more difficult than they should be. Cameron stops, his thermal scope trained on the horizon, and without a word holds up his hand to signal ‘2’.  Another non-verbal sign and we continue onward at a fast pace, stopping only to keep track of the deer. It seems there’s a lot more ground to cover between them and us. Cameron’s knowledge of this land is deep, he can move as fast as he needs to, working with the wind so that his scent isn’t picked up. I finally see the deer for myself - there they are - grazing at the crest of a smaller hill, apparently unaware of the rest of us.  We continue upward in silence. I’ve dropped a good way back, unused to the level of stamina needed for this work. In my case, it is the work of a one-man camera crew who is also trying to ninja-walk quickly up a hill-face while keeping the camera steady and staying as silent as possible.

We reach a vantage point, the deer are directly opposite about 200 metres away. In one fluid movement Cameron’s rifle is off his shoulder and resting on the ground while Fergus drops to a crouch. There’s one shot to get this right - for both of us.  I’m wishing I wasn’t having to work so hard at controlling my breathing after the climb, but I lie down on dew-soaked heather, ready to capture the moment.  Cameron looks over: “Ready?” and without missing a beat turns back to his scope and fires. I’d never heard a rifle shot before and nothing could have prepared me for it, but as I’m still trying to process what has happened, Cameron gives a thumbs up and he and Fergus are off again.  “A beast on the first day, hey that’s not bad going”.  Maybe so, but I make a mental note that I need to be fitter for this job.  When we reach the deer Fergus is excited and, not wanting to miss the moment, I pull my camera from my side and begin rolling. As if by script, both Cameron and Fergus sit down alongside the deer: an ancient scene translated for modern times - a tableau in sepia.