Elk

[DanWalters]

Captured this image last week iat Rocky Mountain National Park. Thanks for looking.

Canon 1D Mark2
Sigma 500mm f/4.5 lens
F/5.6
1/320 sec
ISO 250

[Jasper Doest]

Beautiful animal, great light and striking pose....very nicely done! However....I'd love to see a photograph like this with less focal lenght.....so that we could get an idea of the enormous mountains surrounding this beautiful animal.

[Grady Weed]

I can see Jaspers point. But I also like the comp here too. He is looking out over the cast expanse and perhaps calling out to a mate or friend. He is king of his domain. Just a bit more head turn would be nice, but as is, striking. I went to West Cliff and Silver Cliff for 1 month a few years back. We saw a ton of mule deer, big horn sheep, but no elk. Wish we were there with an image like this.

[Julie Kenward]

Excellent job on exposure! You got tons of detail in the dark areas and still kept the light areas from blowing out. Beautiful stance as well.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Dan,
this is just perfect for me. It looks like he is calling out to the distance. Very striking!

[Johannes Glännman]

Agree to Roman... Beautiful at all points..

Cheers // johannes

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Well done. Lot of details in the shadow areas. I would have loved more of mountains in the image.

[Robert Amoruso]

Well done Dan.

The boulders on the ground anchor the image so well and having the elk in the shade and the mountain in light adds a great 3D feel to the image - great depth.

[DanWalters]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions!

[Steve Canuel]

Sweet shot Dan. Great colors on the distant mountainside. The edge provided by the FG and the bull's distant gaze give me the impression of him trying to find the highest spot he can to bugle across. I think visible mountain peaks would've been a nice photo too but would've competed with the elk and provided a different feel.