Rocky Mtn Elkscape + RP

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 26, 2016139 views8 comments

Another elkscape from this fall. Josiah and I ended up photographing the elk rut in all three of Alberta's mountain parks this year, Jasper, Banff and Waterton. While the main attraction was Jasper, we specifically were after some elk-with-scenery shots in Banff, and had only been in the park for about 20minutes before we found this scene.

Would have loved to have had better light, or a bigger bull, but we still couldn't complain--especially when the bull moved into a decent position. I opted for the natural grazing version, but have a variety of positions of course.

Thanks in advance for your time, comments, critiques and suggestions--please view the larger version for better quality.

EDIT: After getting some great advice from Brad and Lon to selectively increase the contrast (which I had already worked on), I selectively deepened various ranges of darks and have reposted the new version below.

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Nikon D600
Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/4G IF-ED VR at 90mm
ISO 640
1/250sec @ f/5.6
-1.33 stops underexposed from meter
Handheld
Full frame

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on January 26, 2016 at 8:51 AM

Hello John ... Well captured with great background appeal!

Bill

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

Comment posted by Brad Hill on January 26, 2016 at 4:23 PM

Hi John,

All the right elements are here for the making of a fantastic shot - and you put them together very well. Nicely done. The only thing "missing" (or at least "weaker than it could be") is the less-than-stellar sky and lighting of the scene. But everything you did, including sussing the location out, was done well.

One somewhat odd comment: I quite like the single yellow tree (an aspen I assume) near the top of the forest canopy. Oh...and the elk in the lower left corner seems out of proportion and almost a "dwarf" elk! enlightened

Cheers...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on January 26, 2016 at 5:49 PM

Cool. I concur with Brad's observations, even regarding the yellow tree. Only thing I wonder about is whether you could add pop to the background (working against the natural softening haze of distance) by increasing local contrast a bit? I would have to see two versions to make that call, but I think it is worth testing.

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

Comment posted by John Launstein on January 26, 2016 at 8:36 PM

Thanks for the feedback, Bill, Brad and Lon! I completely forgot to say that I spotted that lone yellow aspen in the forest and circled around for an angle that would include it while still working with the elk and background mountains. You made me look re that mysterious dwarf elk in the LLC, Brad! enlightened

Indeed I did have most everything fall into place to allow this scene to be captured except the rather lackluster skies and light. Lon, I have already spent considerable time tweaking the contrast and details out of the background forest and mountains (as well as bringing a bit more drama to the sky). I try and have a VERY light hand on such things, so your suggestion to work on that is a complement that I hadn't punched it to the point of being overly noticeable, while also providing encouragement to see if I can't bring out a bit more. I felt this was pretty accurate to the moment, and the light that is obviously present throughout the scene wouldn't support a significant boost in contrast above the forest, but can definitely see the room for improvement there.

Thanks again!

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

Comment posted by John Launstein on January 27, 2016 at 3:15 AM

Thanks again, all...after Brad and Lon both suggested some selective contrast would help the mountains and sky, Brad followed up with a quick screen grab with tone mapping. I had already gotten halfway there from the very flat (but misleading) RAW file but definitely hadn't taken it quite far enough. After running some selective curves to tweak various shades of darks, above is version two. Many, many thanks to Brad and Lon for their time and expertise...I'll keep working on this until I feel completely happy with it, but I think this is a step in the right direction anyway!

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

Comment posted by Katie Jones on January 28, 2016 at 10:45 AM

Another fantastic "animals in their environment" shot. Great composition. Nice!

Registered on November 17, 2015, 17 Posts, 91 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on February 2, 2016 at 2:18 PM

John this is a lovely scene, one of those that makes me want to visit your part of the world badly!
Nicely done on the repost. Please do post others with a more prominent pose from the bull?

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on February 4, 2016 at 3:00 AM

Thanks again, everyone!

Morkel - let's get you out here, then! We would LOVE to host you for a tour of our corner of the world. cool

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