Prancer, the Elk

Gallery: WildlifePosted February 3, 2015123 views8 comments

Juvenile Elk prancing and enjoying the cold temperatures. This young Elk was well covered with a beautiful thick winter coat. Snow had melted several days prior and then turned dramatically very cold quickly. Almost full frame with slight crop from intrusion on left side.
D600, Lens 70-200mm VR F2.8, taken @ 200mm, Handheld, VR on normal, Late afternoon in late December, 1/400, F7.1, ISO720,
-.67 Meter Compensation, 1 pass selective NR, selective sharpened,

Comments and Critique Very much Appreciated.

Bill
www.BillBickle.com

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on February 3, 2015 at 12:51 PM

Nice one Bill! Good color, sharpness and detail in the elks head and body. A couple of small comments: IMHO need a bit more room on the bottom, and I find the branch in the BG right behind the elks nose a slight distraction. Thanks for sharing. A neat photo.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on February 3, 2015 at 1:21 PM

Very nice indeed. Aptly named.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by peter davidson on February 3, 2015 at 1:58 PM

Good shot, and with a dash of humour! Nice and sharp with good colour, my only nitpick would be that the hoofs are touching the bottom crop and more space here would be more comfortable visually.

Registered on January 29, 2015, 11 Posts, 39 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on February 3, 2015 at 3:38 PM

Trying to play big boy. This is a nice action shot and the colors and detail are very good. Nice shot.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on February 4, 2015 at 2:30 AM

Bill,
Got to love this any image of an animal behaving in a "silly" manner is OK with me

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen Kaluski on February 4, 2015 at 7:02 AM

Hi William, like the fact you have caught this one in mid trot. Nice warm colours and detail. If you have it, then a little more image content below would be nice.

TFS
Steve

Registered on March 25, 2007, 189 Posts, 1064 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on February 4, 2015 at 9:08 AM

Hi Bill,

You know how much I liked your last elk post - great scene, great light, nicely composed, nicely processed, etc. It was what I consider wildlife art and it was impressive and inspiring. A real wall-hanger.

For me (and sorry about the honesty), this one is on the other end of the spectrum of wildlife photography - documentary photography. Well exposed, nice colour, sharp enough, cute animal, etc. And you certainly "got close". But, like with most other broad-side, full-frame shots of wildlife, I don't find it impactful in a creative sense (one has almost no creative options when the animal is SO big in the frame - the biggest challenge is keep all bits in the frame).

So...no argument this is a nice documentary shot - and could look good in a field guide or book on elk - for me it's much less memorable than your previous excellent post.

Cheers...

Brad

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

Comment posted by William Bickle on February 7, 2015 at 11:33 AM

Hello, and thanks for the informative feedback.

My experience with this little prince was amazing and great to watch and enjoy his antics. I think this capture shows off some of his saucy attitude and his very good looks. The lighting was subdued but enjoyable to bring out his beautiful and full coat texture with colouring of his undercoat and rear end . The slight saucy eye contact was him all over , showing off and really kicking up his heals !

Maybe tight and close but I enjoy this capture , showing off the Personality of youth !

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments