Photographer Brian Johnston Captures Rare Albinistic White Stag After Two-Year Search

Brian Johnston, a wildlife photographer, successfully photographed an ultra-rare albinistic red deer, known as a white hart, in his local area last weekend. Johnston had been searching for the stag for a couple of years with a friend. On Saturday morning, they saw the stag for the first time this year during the rutting season, but it caught their scent and fled due to windy conditions. The next day, Sunday, they found the stag asleep in the middle of a field, apparently exhausted from the rut. They observed it for about 30 minutes before it stood up, allowing Johnston to take the desired photographs. Johnston used a Nikon D780 camera and a Sigma 150-600mm lens at 600mm. He has been involved in wildlife photography for four years and sees white stags annually during rutting season, though the first encounter surprised him. Charles Smith-Jones, technical advisor at the British Deer Society, noted that the albinistic red deer is "very very unusual." Johnston mentioned that the stag is larger this year with more antlers. More of his nature photos can be found on his Facebook page.