After leaving Canyon de Chlley, we stopped to watch a deer, which in turn watched us, along the highway between the communities of Chinle and Lukachukai.
A wonderful image. So what if it is derivative? All photography is derivative. Cartier-Bresson said there are
no new ideas in photography, only new ways of looking at old ideas. I am sure your friend's image was unique in its own way, and so is this one -- there is a wonderful scence of scale incongruity to it. This is more of a landscape than an animal portrait -- the animal provides a sense of place and adds to its majesty. I made a photo of a Puku
foraging at dawn in Zambia that is similar in intent, but not in content. It's athttp://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/55194184/original Your image has much greater scale incongruity. Mine, made in near darkness, is based on abstraction and mood.
More than 11 years ago a friend showed me his photograph of an antelope standing next to a small lake. As in this picture, the antelope was just a small part of the entire scene, silhouetted against the water. I've been on the lookout for this photo ever since. I don't think I've quite found one as good as my friends, and this one is derivative, but that's for me what can make photography so interesting - we can build on the visions of other photographers, and never stop looking for the next good photograph.