A Pair of Kings

(Please view larger version)

Hi all! I've almost posted this image a half a dozen times over the past year (I photographed these two alongside Jenaya almost exactly a year ago), but after several attempts at processing it, never felt I had done it justice.

I'm not sure I have yet, but after recently acquiring Phase One's Capture One Pro RAW conversion software, I thought I'd take another swipe at it. For the first time, I feel like I got the scene to represent what was photographed. For whatever reason, this image has become my number one most difficult to accurately process. To be honest, I'm not sure my D7000 quite nailed the colours...Jenaya's images she shot beside me on her D300 have been a breeze in comparison. That's not always the case, but this one tested my skills to say the least.

Anyway, sorry for rambling! Here's the good stuff...

Jenaya and I spotted these two bulls bedded down about 600-800yds off a back road in Banff National Park last spring, and after hiking out (more accurately, wading) through 3+ ft of snow to get the right angles before dawn broke, they really rewarded us with some great images. In fact, Jenaya's picture of these two doing battle (just a few minutes before this image was captured) won the 2011 NWF Wildlife Photography contest (Youth division).

I know this may not be the most interesting composition, but it's what looked best through the viewfinder after trying multiple options with the zoom. I love their proximity to each other and the relative symmetry of their antlers.

Feel free to suggest further improvements, but I hope you enjoy these two magnificent bulls in the crisp mountain air just minutes after the sun broke over the surrounding peaks.

Nikon D7000
Tamron SP 70-210 f/2.8 LD @ 175mm
ISO 100
1/1000sec @ f/5
-0.7EV
monopod in 3.5ft of snow