Wildlife photographers often strive to photograph only the big bulls. Don’t get me wrong, these majestic creatures are certainly worth photographing. However, if we only focus on the bulls we miss other excellent photographic opportunities. This cow was in the midst of a herd of elk, which included several bulls. Everyone was aiming at the big bulls, but I thought this cow was worth a shot, too. What do you think?
The last week of September in elk country was rainy. In fact, it rained every day I was there!
A photographer has to decide what to do when it rains. Should we wait it out, keeping our equipment dry, and wait for the weather to break? Or, should we tough it out and go out in the rain anyway? Will our equipment get ruined in the rain? Can we withstand the discomfort of the rain long enough to capture any usable photographs? What do you do when it rains?
I love the outdoors and have a lot of experience weathering the storms. I spent a lot of time hiking, backpacking, and rock climbing over the years. I’ve even dabbled in mountaineering on two 17,000+ feet mountains. Changing weather is part of the experience in nature and I’ve learned that we can endure even some extreme weather if we are well-prepared, have the right equipment, and allow our minds to catch up with our spirits! I had a football coach tell us that our bodies will do far more than our minds will allow. I believe this is true. Some of the problems in society today are due to us listening too much to our minds and all the negative thoughts instead of just following our more daring spirits and toughing it out!
So two weeks ago I was faced with a dilemma: photograph in the rain or stay inside to hope and wait for better conditions. I actually did a little of both over the week, but I am so glad I also ventured out into the rainstorms. I even got caught in a downpour on a hike when I was two miles from my cabin. I didn’t mind though because I had packed my rain jacket and a plastic bag to protect my camera. A little rain wasn’t going to melt me, so why sit inside all day? Besides, I would never have captured some of the photographs had I stayed inside hoping for better conditions!
This photograph of a 6×6 bull was taken in less than ideal weather conditions. The sun was not shining, the fog was moving in an out, and the rain was lightly falling. But I like this photograph. Somehow the big bull appears to stand out from the background and the viewer can see the wet fur, which seems to add to the aura of this photo.
Lesson learned! The next time it rains, instead of complaining, I will take my camera out anyway. Besides, my camera and my body are much tougher than my mind sometimes thinks!
There is nothing quite like an ear-pereicing bugle to roll across a brisk fall day!
If you haven’t heard this unique sound in nature, you owe it to yourself to find a way to be in a place where you can hear it. There is nothing in all of nature like it. It is impossible to describe with words and even this photograph cannot even come close to hearing the sound in person. You just have to hear it for yourself!
I came across this bull because I first heard him bugling. I was just on my way for a walk, barely out the door, when I heard a bugle. Knowing the area well, I followed the sound and located this bull feeding in a meadow with two cows. It was mid-afternoon on a rainy day but the clouds opened up a little bit and some rays of warm sunlight washed over the scene. It looked magical.
Eventually, this bull had enough food in his stomach and he wandered into the woods and laid down to chew his cud. I know enough about wildlife photography to know that spending time with subject is imperative. Time, lots of time, is required to completely document and photograph these majestic mammals. In this case, for example, I could have left after the bull wandered out of the warm sunlight washing over the meadow and moved into the much darker woods where many small trees obstructed most clear views of this bull. Move on or stick with him? I chose to stick with him. And this is the photograph I eventually captured. I am very glad I stayed with him!
This is what the fall elk rut is all about. Bulls get themselves into a frenzy hoping to mate a cow. They scratch their antlers on the ground, bugle and make all kinds of sounds, attack trees with their large antlers, and much more! They have one thing on their mind: breeding a cow.
This bull is chasing behind a cow hoping she will be ready to breed. She obviously is not ready as she is running away, which is only more frustrating for the bull. Typically, when a bull follows behind a cow unsuccessfully, he will stop and bugle. This is absolutely the right time to have the camera ready to fire!
In this photograph the bull is behind the cow and appears to be disappointed that she is leaving. This same scenario repeats itself over and over and over. The fall rut is full of repeated actions, some predictable and some unpredictable. But it is always a show worth watching and observing!
Capturing a classic battle like this with a camera often is frustrating to me. I never seem to be at the right place at the right time. Or the light is fading too quickly, or the fog is too thick for a good photograph. These fight scenes seem to be elusive to me, which can be very frustrating at times.
This photo captures some of the energy in this fight. It all started, as usual, with much posturing from each bull. This is typical and I could just tell that these two bulls were going to go at it. Then, in an instant, they ran toward each other and crashed their antlers together with an ear-piercing jolt! This is what the fall elk rut is all about!
I like the way these two bulls are working hard to dominate the other. I also really like the dirt flying in the air, both between their antlers and behind the right bull’s hind feet. This helps to portray the massive power and energy present in a real honest-to-goodness fight between two mature bulls. Many elk viewers think they are witnessing a fight when in reality they are simply witnessing what is called sparring, which is much tamer and mild compared to a full-blown fight. A lot of us think these fights last longer than they actually do, too. I went back and looked at the metadata from my photographs to determine the starting and ending time of this fight. It only lasted 2 minutes and 20 seconds. This might not seem long to us, but I’m guessing it seems like an eternity for these two bulls!
The one problem with photographing this bull-fight was that we were losing light in a hurry. I had to bump up the ISO to 800 on my D300. I am finding that I do get some decent photographs with this setting and the noise is at a reasonable level, which is good. Then use the noise reduction feature in Lightroom to clean it up. The newer cameras and software have come a long way in recent years in dealing with noise. I found out this week that I can get usable photographs even at an ISO setting of 1600.
This was the only real fight I witnessed this and it was a powerful one. I hope my photographs do a reasonably decent job of portraying the fierce energy present in these fights between two bulls. It sure is something to see!
Thank you to all my photo friends who I had the privilege of sharing this week with during the PA elk rut on Winslow Hill. I had an incredible time with you! Thanks Dick, Brad, Willard, Coy, John, Buckwheat, and Odie! I also had the privilege of meeting Dave Anderson and he showed me his painting of Fred, which is absolutely awesome!
I will be posting stories and photos of my week’s experience in elk country but I wanted to say a big “thank you” to my photo friends who I appreciate so much! Our camaraderie and common passion for photography and the PA elk are truly appreciated by me.
Thank you!
Over the past four years I have co-lead the Pennsylvania Elk Photography Experience with my good friend and colleague, Dick McCreight. We both have a passion for wildlife photography and especially for the elk of Pennsylvania. I have 21 years of experience with these majestic mammals so we can fairly easily and somewhat predictably guide photographers to the elk. We routinely are able to capture amazing and sometimes breath-taking photographs!
I decided to share some of my photos of these trips on my website. So I created a photography slideshow highlighting photographs captured over the past four years of the Pennsylvania Elk Photography Experience. In this photo presentation you will see many photos of these amazing elk and you will also see a few photos of the photographers as they are making photographs of the elk with their camera.
Dick and I both have a passion for photographing the elk, but we enjoy teaching others how to be better wildlife photographers even more. When one of the photographers on our photo trips captures one of those ah-hah photographs, we celebrate because getting better in this craft is so enjoyable! Knowing that we had a small part in helping makes it all worthwhile.
I hope you enjoy viewing the Pennsylvania Elk slideshow. It shows in a brief way what one can expect on our photo trips to elk country. We are currently taking reservations for our winter trip in February 2012. We are now offering 1-day and 3-day trips. You can find more details about these photo trips here.
Now, enjoy the PA Elk Slideshow!
How would you like to photograph an elk as he bugles into the brisk air or stands face-to-face with another competing bull in a showdown during the fall rut?
Our Fall Elk Rut photo workshop provides opportunities like these and more! Fall brings not only a change in colors, but also the Fall Rut for the elk. We are privileged to have elk here in Pennsylvania and my colleague, Dick McCreight, and I like nothing more than sharing this experience with others as we photograph the elk during this breath-taking season. It will be memorable!
The 3-day workshop actually begins on Monday evening and concludes on Thursday. We pack a lot of quality time into photographing the elk, sharing photo instruction and tips, and leading three different photo workshops in the evenings.
Includes 3 workshops:
1 – Setting up & using your camera for wildlife photography
2 – How to use Lightroom to manage and edit your photographs easily
3 – Techniques for Better Wildlife Photography & a History of the PA Elk Herd
Dick is incredibly knowledgeable with Lightroom and will show you how to quickly and easily manage your photo library and also how to edit your photos after a shoot. You will learn ways to photograph the elk at different times of the day and in different situations, how to set up your camera for wildlife photography, and more about this unique elk herd of Pennsylvania in these 3 workshops. We keep the group small so we have quality time together. It is sure to be a rewarding and unforgettable experience, which is why we titled our photo workshop: the “Pennsylvania Elk Photography Experience.”
The cost is $595 for the trip and includes lodging and meals. You can find more detailed information on our website. Join us for this exciting adventure as we photograph the PA elk together!
Here are just a few photographs we captured on previous trips:
There is absolutely no place I would rather be in the fall than in Benezette, Pennsylvania photographing the beautiful and majestic elk of Pennsylvania. The fall colors, the active bugling bull elk, and the excitement of the fall rut bring sounds and sights that are just out of this world! Photographing these amazing sights is high on my list of must-do experiences every year.
My good friend and photography colleague, Dick McCreight, and I enjoy leading photo trips on the elk range each fall. We particularly enjoy sharing how we photograph the elk with those interested in learning helpful photo skills to do the same. We take viewing etiquette very seriously, so our numbers are small so we can both teach outdoor photo skills to you while keeping our impact on the elk range to a minimum.
This fall photo trip will be our 6th trip and we cannot wait to be out with our cameras photographing the elk!
If you enjoy wildlife photography and want to learn how to take better photographs, then this is the perfect trip for you. Our photo trip features three in-depth workshops where we discuss camera set-up & use, wildlife photography, history of the PA elk, and editing photographs in Adobe Lightroom. You will definitely learn new photo skills in these workshops! Then we take what we learn from each other and put it all into use as we take a minimum of six excursions on the elk range to capture the excitement with our cameras. Each evening we share our photographs of the day and enjoy constructive critiques on our five best photos of the day.
Digital photography has come a long way in recent years. The problem is learning how to use this new technology to capture the photos of your dreams. This trip will not only help you learn how to do this, but will put you in a position to capture the magnificent elk of Pennsylvania with your camera!
Click here to find out more info about these photo trips. Click here to see some photos of previous photo trips and click here to view a slideshow of what our trips offer. Feel free to email any questions you may have about these trips. We are confident that you will not only find our photo trip to be educational but also entertaining and filled with loads of photo fun! Try it out this year by attending our PA Photo Elk Experience–it will be an experience of a lifetime!
Bob Shank & Dick McCreight
How would you like to capture some amazing photographs of the majestic Pennsylvania elk?
Our Pennsylvania Elk Photography Experience is a great opportunity to learn more about wildlife photography and make great memories at the same time!
Click on the photo above for a sample of photographs you could capture on one of these trips.
These photo trips offer complete lodging and food for three days. You will experience three photography workshops and have plenty of chances to be out photographing these amazing creatures. It will be an experience of a lifetime!
Along the way you will meet some terrific people, experience the elk culture of Pennsylvania, and learn some valuable wildlife photography tips.
Our upcoming Winter Experience is scheduled for February 21-24. More information is available here.
Please consider joining us for an amazing photography experience. And if you refer a friend to attend with you, we will take 10% off the regular price for you.