Nancy Bell
10-07-2011, 10:44 AM
I had a wonderful experience watching the elk herd in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado for several hours on Wednesday. This hard-working bull kept 7 other bulls at bay, beat his antlers in the bushes, bugled repeatedly, raced after cows drifting to the edges of the herd, periodically checked the cows for readiness, and found a bit of time for a short nap! His herd was 35 cows and calves who spent most of their time grazing and loafing and occasionally running from the bull's attentions.
There was a crowd of over 100 people watching from the roadside. Park rangers kept us a safe distance from the elk but that did not stop the elk from coming close to us at times.
This image was taken after sunset. Most of the afternoon was heavily overcast with rain at times. I want to thank Dan Walters for posting his images of the RMNP elk that inspired me to go there.
Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 400 DO f4 IS, tripod, ISO 1600, f5.6, 1/160, exp. comp. +2/3
All c & c most appreciated.
There was a crowd of over 100 people watching from the roadside. Park rangers kept us a safe distance from the elk but that did not stop the elk from coming close to us at times.
This image was taken after sunset. Most of the afternoon was heavily overcast with rain at times. I want to thank Dan Walters for posting his images of the RMNP elk that inspired me to go there.
Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 400 DO f4 IS, tripod, ISO 1600, f5.6, 1/160, exp. comp. +2/3
All c & c most appreciated.