Every night, as soon as most people stay inside their homes and dogs are off the streets,
a large group of deer enter the Dutch seaside village of Zandvoort. They eat from the
gardens and rampage through the streets. Sometimes they run into cars. The group escapes
from an overcrowded nature area on the southern border of the village. But in the morning
the deer find it difficult to go back to their own area.
To prevent further damage William, a 60-year old house painter, escorts them back. Every
morning, come rain, come shine. In the village William is called the 'deer whisperer'.
I followed William during many early mornings during the first six months of 2016 and
documented his work for the people of his village and the deer.
Theo Stielstra (1961), newspaper journalist, born in The Netherlands, has been educated as a journalist. As a photographer he is self-taught. With his camera he tells the stories of ordinary people who might not think anything special from their activities, but they are recognized by others. His approach is a reporting/documentary style.
Awards * Participant of the 2016 Masterclass for non-professional photographers at the BredaPhoto 2016 exhibition in The Netherlands: group exhbition.
* 2017 Publication of Early Morning at the Lake in Volkskrant Magazine, saturday supplement with national newspaper de Volkskrant, The Netherlands
* Honorable Mention Juried Awards for William the deer man, Px3 2017.
