Jasper Bull Elk #31

[Jamie Douglas]

I spent the last few days searching (and I mean searching!) for wildlife in the Canadian Rockies. Each morning I got up at the crack of dawn and headed out to see what I could find. On this particular morning I spotted a large bull elk by the roadside and had to park up and wait for the sun to come up. There was just barely enough light for me to shoot in before he took off into thicker bush after about 20 minutes of me getting out the car.

This is straight out out camera with a slight WB adjustment and sharpening in CS5. It's a little tight for my liking but there was a road just in front of him, a resort in the BG and man placed boulders around. The bull I did find in a more idyllic location had a harem of cows and got cranky before I even got set up on the river bank.

Techs... Canon 7D with 400mm F5.6 @ F5.6, 1/80, ISO1600

Thanks

Jamie

[Andrew Merwin]

That's an impressive rack. It looks well polished & ready for action. I agree with your self critique. I like the eye peeking out between the flora. Is there a tag on the elk's right ear or is it a flower?

[Morkel Erasmus]

Nice to see you posting again Jamie.

When you say "had time to set up" - do you mean you had to get out of the car and set up a tripod? Was there something that prohibited you from shooting from your vehicle with a beanbag?

Regarding the image - and I'm calling it as I see it straight up , it's not really working for me...though the techs look great and the high ISO is pretty well handled...the crop is not ideal (fair enough, you had constraints as you mentioned), as I feel the legs just look too 'cut off'. It is nice that the eye is clear of the clutter covering the rest of the face, but I think in this case a nice portrait of the face and rack would have been a good option - do you have any?

Background could use one more round of noise reduction as presented.

[Robert Amoruso]

Nice to see you posting again Jamie.

When you say "had time to set up" - do you mean you had to get out of the car and set up a tripod? Was there something that prohibited you from shooting from your vehicle with a beanbag?

Regarding the image - and I'm calling it as I see it straight up , it's not really working for me...though the techs look great and the high ISO is pretty well handled...the crop is not ideal (fair enough, you had constraints as you mentioned), as I feel the legs just look too 'cut off'. It is nice that the eye is clear of the clutter covering the rest of the face, but I think in this case a nice portrait of the face and rack would have been a good option - do you have any?

Background could use one more round of noise reduction as presented.

I would agree with Morkel's assessment.

[Jamie Douglas]

Excuse my bad manners. Imagine posting and then not returning until days later.

Life got busy for a minute with family in town but I have found some quiet time :)

I posted this to see what comments would be made. It's not my fav shot from my recent trip by any means, but I wanted to see what the reaction would be to it.

Andrew: Thanks Andrew, it's a tag, I chose not to clone it out for this posting.

Morkel: The shooting angle was very difficult. I tried from the car but got ornamental boulders in the way so had to get out and get low. I also had a dense forest behind me so getting further back wasnt an option. I must admit that I found the 7D to be a little tight for wildlife on this trip.

When I mentioned I didn't have the chance to get set up, I meant that the Bull started to approach me before I managed to get myself organised on the shoreline. I was on foot and a long way from my car.

Robert: I also agree with Morkel.

Thanks guys.

Jamie

[Morkel Erasmus]

Morkel: The shooting angle was very difficult. I tried from the car but got ornamental boulders in the way so had to get out and get low. I also had a dense forest behind me so getting further back wasnt an option. I must admit that I found the 7D to be a little tight for wildlife on this trip.

When I mentioned I didn't have the chance to get set up, I meant that the Bull started to approach me before I managed to get myself organised on the shoreline. I was on foot and a long way from my car.

Thanks for explaining Jamie. The APS-C sensor cameras come in handy when the shooting distances can be expected to be vast (as in the Kalahari, Masai Mara) but in forests and tight situations one can often end up being too tight. I am loving getting to know my full frame from being used to a crop-sensor...