This is a photo of two bull elk that were battling during the rut in November 2005. The funny thing abut this is when I arrived at the location to find these bulls going at it, I watched them for more than 3 hours going at it and filled up the two flash cards that I had with me. I ran back home and came back with more and filled them up too. It was a very neat experience to see them and hear them like this. This photo was shot with a Nikon D70 and Nikkor 300mm G lens. It was edited in PS to bring up the levels and to resize / crop slightly.
As before, the photo was shot at Lone Elk County Park in St. Louis. It is a 550 acre high fence area, that has "free roam" elk and bison, along with whitetail deer and turkey.
As usual, comments and suggestions are always appreciated.
Thanks,
Matt Tucker
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on July 13, 2006 at 6:42 PM
Well I can certainly identify with you on watching elk rut, it's an amazing spectacle. My wife and I spent 4 hours one evening in RMNP watching a gigantic bull herd his harem non-stop while the less mature bulls practiced rutting and hoping for a shot at him in the future.
Sounds like a great place, close to home, to spend some time enjoying wildlife! Thanks for sharing Matt.
Nicely done Matt! It's always supprised me that during a rut their antlers don't get locked up, I know it does happen though, just not often. I have enjoyed your images from this park, looking forward to seeing more. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Matt, wanted to ask where this park is located at? I have been to the St. Louis area a few times, but don't remember seeing anything on this park. Looks like a great place for photographing willife.
Matt,
Nice light in the back ground. I also like the way you caught the antlers at an angle parallel to their necks.
<img src="http://www.bluffspring.com/images/Reel%205%20inch.jpg" width="480" height="720">
Rod
Posted by Matt Tucker on July 13, 2006 at 10:26 PM
Lone Elk Park is not a very well known park. It is actually in Valley Park, MO. The park is located off of I-44 about 30 minutes west of the Arch in St. Louis. It is a great place to photograph wildlife -- it isn't 100% natural, but is close and very cool. There is a ton of other wildlife spots to shoot from in the area too. If you ever make a trip to STL, I would be more than happy to meet up with any of the forum members.
--Matt Tucker
Posted by Matt Tucker on July 13, 2006 at 10:29 PM
I have a few more posted from this battle on my site, for those that are interested. The links are below.
Discussion
6 repliesAs before, the photo was shot at Lone Elk County Park in St. Louis. It is a 550 acre high fence area, that has "free roam" elk and bison, along with whitetail deer and turkey.
As usual, comments and suggestions are always appreciated.
Thanks,
Matt Tucker
Sounds like a great place, close to home, to spend some time enjoying wildlife! Thanks for sharing Matt.
Nice light in the back ground. I also like the way you caught the antlers at an angle parallel to their necks.
<img src="http://www.bluffspring.com/images/Reel%205%20inch.jpg" width="480" height="720">
Rod
--Matt Tucker
Elk Fighting in the Lake
Elk Fighting on Land