Feisty bull elk

Gallery: WildlifePosted November 13, 2010170 views5 comments

I photographed this bull elk along the Madison river in Yellowstone NP. He was strutting around and putting on a good threat display to discourage other bulls from trying to take his cows. He had already displaced a larger bull and taken over his cows. He wasn't the biggest bull around but he was very feisty and looked ready to take on all comers.

D200 with nikkor 300/2.8 and TC14
ISO 200 exp unknown

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Steve Canuel on November 13, 2010 at 9:11 PM

Hey Robert,
Looks like your elk has been drinking the same stuff as my bighorn

. I like that you captured him in stride and especially the angle of the head. I'd take a touch off the back to get him slightly off center if mine.

Registered on September 12, 2010, 53 Posts, 660 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on November 13, 2010 at 10:44 PM

Robert - great pose!
I'd suggest darkening this a bit, and boosting the contrast - even better then.
If possible, I'd also move him left in the frame to place him off-center.
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by JACK NEAL on November 14, 2010 at 2:51 PM

Good capture, Robert. Those bulls did a lot of herd changing this year. I agree about moving the bull off center. You got a very good expression on his face!

Registered on September 26, 2009, 131 Posts, 554 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on November 14, 2010 at 6:32 PM

Hi Robert,

This elk certainly has the "...don't mess with me" look about him! I like the overall colour palette here. I do agree with the idea of shifting the subject slightly to the left (via recropping if possible). If the image were mine I'd probably experiment with reducing the exposure a tad...but until I did that and re-assessed the image I wouldn't say for sure that it needs a contrast bump...

Cheers...thanks for sharing this one...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on September 12, 2012 at 7:20 AM

Great sharpness and "feisty" behavioral pose, like the overall monochromatic look Robert.
Cool capture, way to go!

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments