Cooperative Bull Elk

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 11, 2016150 views8 comments

Hi all! A couple months ago I posted a shot of this bull bedded down under a tree with a younger bull sneaking around behind him (foolish) while keeping an eye on his body language in case he needed to get out of dodge (wise).

In that post I mentioned that Josiah and I had found this setting, a clearing off the beaten path in Jasper NP with a fabulous mountain view in the background, and began checking it every morning in hopes a bull elk would find it as ideal a spot as we did. Just a couple days before we left, this guy showed up and allowed us some great views and angles. As mentioned, he was initially bedded at the forest's edge (behind him in this picture), and despite the biting cold of the morning, Josiah and I both decided it would be worth the wait no matter how long if he were to move into the clearing once he got up. It was a long wait, and worth every minute when he slowly walked across the clearing before disappearing into the forest to the north. He really didn't give us very many minutes here nor did he put on much of a show, but we made the most of it and both returned with some favourites of a handsome bull in a beautiful Rocky Mountain fall scene.

Hope you enjoy...thanks for looking and please view the larger if you have time! Comments, critiques and suggestions are most welcome of course! cool

EDIT: Oops, forgot to mention the image extends to the bottom of the watermark, which I think gives good margin for "virtual" legs/hooves and overall balance, but the watermark depth does cramp the scene a bit in this case (yes, this is full-frame). Also for what it's worth, the blue in the background is a mountain, not sky.

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Nikon D600
Nikkor AF-S 500mm f/4D IF-ED
ISO 400
1/640sec @ f/4.5
-0.3 stop exposure from meter
Mounted on FEISOL CT-3372 Elite tripod with Acratech GV2 ballhead and Wimberley Sidekick
100% full frame (not cropped)

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Jim Gavin on January 12, 2016 at 2:45 AM

Most of the time there is a coperative animal the photographer has spent a lot of time making it so. This appears to be not exception. Scouting and perserverance certainly paid off and lead to this "cooperative bull elk." The largest size is a must view. While some may find the bottom a bit tight (based on comments to other photographs in the NPN), I do not, but that of course is a personal view. Very nice.

Registered on August 14, 2008, 293 Posts, 1250 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen Kaluski on January 12, 2016 at 12:29 PM

Hi John, a cool looking Bull, great rack too. I do like the way the 'Aspens' (?) flank either side and bring a nice bit of colour into play, plus the off set 'V' of the sky. I would prefer more room below if you have it, it's just a bit neat for my tastes. Agree, the larger version is a must to do the image justice, love the catchlight. Overall a pleasure to view John, it has a great 'seasonal' feel.

TFS
Steve

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

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on January 13, 2016 at 7:51 AM

John,
PERFECTION devil

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

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on January 13, 2016 at 11:30 AM

Beautiful colors, classic pose, excellent eye reflection, iconic setting. Spot on techs. What more could one want? This is cool and makes me want to see more, especially of the setting. If this is cropped, how about more space, especially in front, a little below for virtual feet and maybe even more top.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on January 13, 2016 at 6:48 PM

Thanks, Jim, Steve, Ken and Lon! Much appreciated. I was definitely excited when this came together and the bull moved into the scene and even did so at a totally decent angle for us!

Lon (et al), this is full-frame. I did take a few shots with the 70-200mm when the bull was bedded that shows the overall setting...I just posted a wider view here. Also Josiah got some slightly different angles as well as a cool one of the younger bull in this setting...I'm sure he'll be posting one before too long.

I will say that despite Jim's kind words about being prepared, I still would have rather been 10-15ft further away to open up a touch more room all around, as Lon suggests. Despite all our planning and strategizing, guessing how big (especially tall) a partially obscured, bedded bull will be in the frame once he's up and in the open was a bit of a guessing game. I'm glad we came close, but we both commented on the hike back to the truck that he filled the frame a touch more than we wanted. Miss my 200-400mm for such moments. angel

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Pete Bengeyfield on January 14, 2016 at 1:12 AM

Good positioning of the antlers against the dark BG.

Registered on December 2, 2003, 1247 Posts, 3439 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on January 14, 2016 at 6:40 PM

John: the bull is truly impressive, especially so when viewed large. The pose, composition and techs are spot on. Congrats! Richard

Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on January 17, 2016 at 8:27 PM

Beautiful image John. Love hte BG Aspens and your techs are right o the money here. My first reaction was I wanted more space on bottom, but then read your comment about the watermark. I am trying to picture this without the watermark to make up my mind, but am having a hard time imaging this on my own (not sure why, shouldn't be too hard for me to imagine this... sad

) because of how dark the watermark border is.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments