Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
Yeah, these guys can definitely be a bit intimidating. Don’t worry though, I definitely was keeping a respectful distance as this was shot with a 600mm lens and cropped to give this kind of a close look.
On this particular morning a few weeks ago, there was a good bit of sparring between the bulls as they geared up for the rut. This particular guy was probably about the second biggest in the area so he was large and had the potential to be in charge.
From a couple weeks ago, this big guy was one of four I was taking pictures of. They weren’t being particularly cooperative as they tended to stay covered pretty well. This one though did give me some nice shots and I think this one is my favorite. The soft light, the foliage framing him and the gentle look on his face make for a nice capture. Taken in Colorado’s Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.
This image would look awesome on your wall! Get it here!
Time to change the sign to Moose crossing. 😀
Another for Moose Monday since I have taken so danged many pics of these guys here lately.
This big guy was crossing the road yesterday and while those folks were there before him, they really should be backpedaling. Here’s a bit of a hint – If you are close enough to wildlife to get a good picture with your phone, you are TOO CLOSE!
A Moose bull can weigh 1,000+ pounds and run at 35 mph. How long do you think it would take for this Moose to close that distance between him and those people? Not very long and with rut season gearing up, these guys are in no mood to deal with tourists.
I know not everyone has access to the gear I do but even a decent quality point and shoot camera will give you a decent zoom lens allowing you to maintain a respectful distance from wildlife and, best of all, the quality will blow away that which you get with your phone. Food for thought!
I spent this past weekend in Colorado’s Indian Peaks Wilderness area where the scenery is breathtaking and the wildlife impressive. Certainly, my biggest goal in going there is to photograph the Moose.
These creatures are absolutely massive and this time of year, the bulls are prepping for the annual rut and are more active than usual. Sparring almost always ensues as the big guys begin to establish a pecking order.
This past Saturday, one of the younger bulls decided to test the senior member of the bachelor herd. The fight wasn’t particularly intense as the old guy seemed to be humoring the younger one more than anything. Nevertheless, it was a ton of fun to watch as the two put their heads together and knock their massive antlers.
Check out more of my pics of these beasts here.
I opted not to spend my Labor Day laboring. Well, unless you count lugging my camera and tripod in Colorado’s high country. 😉 I had hoped to get pics of bunches of Moose but only got images of one but he was a good one.
This big bull really, really wanted the last of the velvet off of his antlers. He took his frustration out on a little, spindly pine tree, vigorously rubbing on it. This is just a quick shot of what was almost 10 minutes of the big guy beating up the tree. By the time he was done, there wasn’t much bark left on the little guy.
The rut is getting close and even a few weeks ago when this picture was taken, the Moose bulls were establishing a pecking order.
Here, two go head to head leading up to a bit of pushing and shoving. Unfortunately, this was before the sun hit the valley floor so my pics of the action came out blurry due to the necessity of a slow shutter speed. Sigh.
These two big guys were part of a bachelor group of four, but, they were only the middle two in terms of size. There was another with them that was clearly the senior and dominant one of them all. Taken in Arapaho National Forest, Colorado.
I am running behind in posting pics of these massive creatures that I have taken recently so here’s a bonus one for Moose Monday. See my earlier post for a clearer shot. This guy thought he was being sneaky. Apparently the best tasting foliage was right next to the road where I was watching him and three other bulls. With the steep drop off from the road, I couldn’t get a clear shot of him as he eased his way up, grazing along the way. Kind of makes for a fun pic.
An absolutely fun morning recently as we camped in Arapaho National Forest. The rest of my crew was more interested in sleeping in than wildlife watching so I headed off alone, going further into the forest.
I had oftentimes seen Moose in this area and this time was no different. Four bulls – three fully grown, one juvenile – were grazing next to a creek. Three of the four didn’t pay me any attention as I stood by my truck and snapped pictures.
One, however, was quite curious about me, routinely pausing his eating to look right at me and monitor me. Here, he had raised his head and gave me a nice look right into the eyes. In the end, I spent an hour-and-a-half with the group, just me and them, and it made for a very special day.
This past weekend I headed up to Roosevelt National Forest in Colorado looking for these cool creatures. Unfortunately there was only one and the light was at a premium. He didn’t want to wait for the sun to fully rise before heading off into the forest but was kind enough to give me some pretty nice captures.
This is just before he left the willing and disappeared into the trees. These guys are a lot of fun and thankfully, getting more and more abundant here in the Centennial State. Soon the rut will begin and you will want to keep your distance, even more so than usual.
My photo excursions this past weekend didn’t quite go as well as I had hoped. Wildlife proved to be elusive on one day and the weather with thick cloud cover problematic on Sunday.
This image comes from yesterday in Rocky Mountain National Park. I spotted this handsome fellow as he moved with purpose along a tree line in view but too far away for decent pics. I anticipated he would be coming to a spot where a dirt road intersects and sure enough, he did.
The dim, early morning light was inhibited further by thick clouds over the valley so most of my pics were quite disappointing. I did manage this one when, for a very brief instant, the sun broke through and shed light right where the bull happened to be.
This image is available for purchase here.
