Pictures of the Week: Jan. 12-18

This week I came across a wonderfully amusing image of two doe mule deer in the deep snow of the Gunnison Basin east of Gunnison, Colo., photographed by George Kochaniec Jr. of the Rocky Mountain News. In the photograph, one doe mule deer is seen poking its head out of the deep snow as another deer is seen bent over with its head tucked down as it forages for food beneath the snow. The result is a humorous image of what appears to be one doe mule deer with an extremely long neck.

Since the photograph was taken by a member paper of the Associated Press, I contacted the paper directly in order to obtain permission to include the photograph in this week's Pictures of the Week gallery.

 

When I spoke with Dean Krakel, Deputy Director of Photography at the Rocky Mountain News, he mentioned that there was a second image available as well. I asked him to provide both, and that I would choose one to include in the gallery.

 

The second image was equally intriguing. It again showed two doe mule deer in the deep snow of the Gunnison Basin, but where the first image was humorous, this one was serene. It showed one dear about to leap through the snow, just as the other was about to land. It looks like a before and after sequence or a zoetrope. However, I think the starkness of the two lone shapes as they move against the white blanket of snow, conveys an incredible sense of serenity.

So what do you think? Which fits best with the other images in this week's gallery, humor or serenity? Take a look at all of this week's best images from around the world in our latest Pictures of the Week gallery.

- Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week