South Dakota

I posted a time or two here many weeks ago and now I see a topic in the dicussion threads about posting in regional forums. Point taken, so I thought I would check in....

I think I am one of the few South Dakota members, and the only one I know of from the extreme west part, Hot Springs, SD. I am ten miles from Wind Cave National Park and about 25 from Custer State Park, both of which offer superb wildlife photo opportunities.

At this time, the elk are moving into the real frenzy of the annual rut, and I was out this morning. Bear in mind that photos of these guys, even in Wind Cave National Park, are not the same as in Yellowstone where they stand alongside the road, ignoring the millions of passerbys. I had to work-walk for a couple of rugged miles to get in postion to get photos in light and was rewarded by this guy, a bit of a freak. He had 5 points on one side and the other was just a tine plus a bit of a club, all probably the result of some injury on the opposite side of his body.

None-the-less I want to invite any NPN members to come on out and enjoy the Black Hills of SD and I would be willing to accompany you if you want to find some wildlife.

Stats: D200, 200-400 @ 200, f6.3 @ 1/180 and iso 250.

Welcome aboard Lon! Nice capture! I like the way you caught this guy with his head turned like it is. Since you mentioned the other tine I would kind of like to see it. Anyway it's a nice shot. Thanks for sharing!

Great capture Lon, I have never been to your area but have it on my list.

Here is a documentary crop of the odd antler formation on his left...

Hi Lon, nice to see your work here. What a unique rack that fella has, and a great capture of it. It's been a few years since I was up your way. I know you have some great photography opportunities. I look forward to seeing more posted here as well.
Thanks for sharing Lon.

Brad

Welcome to CSNP, Lon. Your images out in the main forums are always a pleasure to look at. Keep up the good work.

Lon I absolutely love the 2nd photo! It's a good pose, focus right where it needs to be, and that lopsided look made me laugh out loud! What a refreshing difference from the absolutely perfect racks I'm trying to get.

Actually you need to come down to Arkansas & get some photos. The elk down there are quite tame

Lon, great to see you posting here again. We would welcome your regular participation here on CSNP. Excellent work on both of these shots and I can certainly appreciate the effort to capture images like these outside the national parks.

I'd love to get up your way not only for the wildlife but to experience the country where you live. I'm looking forward to seeing many more!

I like both of the shots, too. The second one is certainly testimony to the fact that, as the song says, it's a jungle out there.