A picture is worth a thousand words...

In the recent spirit of OT-ish images, I present this one, taken on Labor Day 2 years ago somewhere in Colorado. It's not the most scenic picture but then again it was taken before sunrise, the exposure was 2 seconds long, and it was handheld with my digicam because my 4x5 camera was in my backpack for obvious reasons. Anyone care to guess where this was taken, and what the circumstances might have been? Or whether or not I'd be alive to type this tonight if that tree wasn't there?

Looks like Rocky, but there's no other cars in the shot, so I'm not sure. Two seconds handheld? Are you freakin' kidding? I don't see how you or Mr. Elk could not show any movement in that amount of time.

Well, this looks like it was obviously taken at Sprague Lake in RMNP on the north side of the lake. Knowing that this tree extends far into the water, I'm guessing that you were out there shooting reflections and abstracts. I'm going to guess that you were out on the tree balancing to keep from falling in the water when this large elk came walking up and gave you a scare. That's my guess. How'd I do?

Todd, my recollection is that 2 seconds was about right. At 100% the image is actually quite blurry. Erik, you called it - Sprague Lake. But no, not shooting reflections and abstracts (though I'm pretty sure that was tongue in cheek ). I was on my way to the far side of the lake to shoot the standard sunrise shot when I saw 3 cow elk on the hillside. The I saw a bull. Then he saw me. He locked eyes with me and walked swiftly and directly toward me. I backed away and he didn't stop coming toward me. I got to the water's edge and met this beautiful, wonderful downed tree. With 4x5 camera pack on I backed up on the slippery and thin tree trunk to the far edge of the downed tree. Seconds later this elk came to the edge of the tree and stood there, staring at me for 30 minutes. I watched a beautiful sunrise from the far end of the tree. I have no idea what I would have done if that tree wasn't there. That elk didn't appear to be content with scaring me off - I think he basically wanted to kill me.

I probably shouldn't laugh, but that is a funny story!. These animals are often seen as being mild mannered by the tourists, just goes to show they do deserve respect. I'm glad that tree was there for you, and glad you didn't fall backwards into the water with your 4x5!.
2 seconds handheld - wow, you got a steady hand!.

I have to say I don't think I could have been that steady given the circumstances. I believe this was probably taken at the beginning of the rut. You were very lucky to have that nice old dead tree so handy.

That's quite a story, Brett, glad you were able to keep your pants dry.
And you weren't even trying to get a wideangle closeup !

When I was a kid hiking in Yellowstone, we inadvertently approached a hidden elk calf. The mother came trotting up from behind, intent on killing us. We were able to shuffle quickly onto a talus slope where she didn't want to venture, but she hopped onto a boulder above us and stared us down at close range for a good five minutes. We finally ventured to crawl down the talus, and she let us go. Elk are seriously intimidating animals when they have it out for you. Like you, I don't know what we would have done if there hadn't been a refuge handy. Cool shot!

I didn't take this picture until I had made it to the end of the log and ascertained that there was no way the elk was able to reach me short of swimming in from the side, which he didn't appear interested in doing. By this point my panic attack had subsided and my hands must have been reasonably steady once more. And for what it's worth, my digicam had image stabilization. This was definitely during the rut. It never occurred to me that walking down a paved path around the most visited lake in RMNP on one of the busiest days of the year would entail risking my life. Jackson, I agree that elk can be extremely intimidating! After the bull moved well away from me and my tree I hiked around to the other side of the lake. The bull saw me again, walked down to the water's edge, actually took a few steps into the lake toward me, and stared at me angrily (or so I imaged) for a few more minutes. I thought he might actually swim after me for a moment.