Category Archives: Pennsylvania Elk Photography Experience

Why did the elk cross the road?

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To get to the other side where the acorns were!

I watched this small bull cross the road, debark a tree, and then eat one acorn after the other. If you’ve been out in the woods lately, you know there is a banner crop of acorns this year. They are all over the forest floor! Well, this bull wasted no time and devoured as many acorns as he could find. Then, once he had his fill, he laid down and chewed his cud. Ahhh, the life of a bull elk in the rut!

This bull put on a show for me after he crossed the road. Yep, he crossed the road to get to the other side where the acorns were located!

Dangerous Crossing?

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Back in September I watched excitedly as a small herd of elk crossed the creek. The water wasn’t all that high, but it wasn’t shallow either. The cows went across first and carefully made their way to the other side. In the midst of their crossing, I saw this little calf making its way across the creek, too. Then I wondered, how dangerous is this crossing for the elk, especially for the calves?

We humans take many things for granted–bridges, for example. There aren’t too many times when we have to ford a stream or creek these days. Perhaps the elk’s four legs help them manage the slippery rocks better than our two legs, but I am sure it is still somewhat precarious for them. I could tell that the elk were methodical as they gently stepped into the water and then slowly made their way across the stream. None of them fell or even stumbled. Then the bull followed and made his way across, bringing up the rear.

But my interest was with the smallest of the elk–the calf. It made its way across successfully but this photograph shows just how high the water was for this little calf.

Fall Newsletter

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I just posted my new Fall Newsletter to my website.

The Fall Newsletter has some articles about the Pennsylvania elk, the Elk County Visitor Center, and a Photography tip. You can view my newsletter here. It features a brand new format and is now produced in PDF format.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

My photography adventures take me on many exciting experiences. Last night I photographed the local high school game between East Stroudsburg South and Pleasant Valley. It was absolutely the best high school football game I’ve ever seen! The game went back and forth the entire time and Pleasant Valley pulled it out with 18 seconds to go on the clock! It was enthralling and I was honored to be there to capture the action with my camera. You can see these photos here.

It is experiences like this and seeing the beautiful Pennsylvania elk that keep me behind the viewfinder. I could think of no better place to be in my spare time!

The Bull Known as 8A

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I guess I am a purist of sorts. Perhaps it was the education I received at Temple University when I earned my communications degree back in 1987. I like my photography to depict real-life situations and tell the story exactly as it was seen by me. For example, I never use Photoshop to remove a collar from an elk. I know some photographers who do this extremely well and they are definitely better in Photoshop than I. And I don’t knock them for what they do, I just prefer a different route in my own photography I guess. To me there is no right or wrong here–just a preference, and I prefer to keep my photos as they were captured. I do some crop some of my photos once in a while, but to me this is a little different from removing part of an image that is seen as the main subject. Go ahead and call me a purist and I promise not to knock you for removing a collar in Photoshop.

Those of us who photograph the Pennsylvania Elk see these collars often. They are radio transmitters used by the Pennsylvania Game Commission to assist in tracking the elk herd. This research tool is quite helpful I am sure, but as a photographer, I prefer to see elk without the big yellow or brown collars attached to their necks. Again, I am a purist. However, the collars some elk wear are part of the elk story and culture on Winslow Hill. So documenting and even photographing them makes sense to me even though I usually prefer to show only those elk without collars.

So yesterday, when I saw a blog entry by my photo friend, Brad Myers, and a comment by Coy Hill; I did a little digging. Brad and Coy were discussing the 8A bull, which is a beautiful bull this year! He garnered a lot of attention during the rut. I went back through my photographs and found these photos of the bull known as 8A, since that is the description on his yellow collar. I am kind of embarrassed that I did not post any photos of this bull earlier. And I most likely would not have posted any photos of  him without the prompting of Brad’s and Coy’s blog conversation. I hope these photos help tell a little more of the Pennsylvania Elk story and help to show just what a magnificent bull is 8A!

Time for a Drink

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Do you ever need a break and think yourself, it’s time for a drink?

Wild animals need water to survive as all mammals do. We often concentrate on what they prefer and need to eat and neglect to think about the amount of water they need to drink to survive. Where do they get water to drink? How do they know it’s safe? What do they do in a drought?

A few weeks ago I was fortunate to watch a small herd of elk cross the Bennett Branch of the Sinnamahoning Creek. It was something I waited a long time to see but when it happened it was like time stood still. To witness the magnificent creatures navigating the creek carefully aware of the rocks was a sight I will never forget. It was astounding!

The last elk to enter the water was a nice bull. He was in no hurry and was merely interested in keeping close to his harem of cows. When he was in the middle of the creek he looked around and then began to take a drink. His non-anxious and relaxed manner was surprising to me, but then I realized that he probably did this many times before. Now, on this day, he was just repeating what he did before but I was just seeing it for the first time. It was a nature highlight for me!

Elk Creek Crossing

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Do you have a photograph you dream of capturing?

If you do, then you can identify with my feelings of anticipation, disappointment, and eventual success. I wanted desperately to capture a photograph of an elk crossing a body of moving water, preferably a bull crossing a creek. I came very close to accomplishing my photographic goal two years ago, but  it just didn’t work out for me that day. Never give up is one of my mottos, so I was determined to keep trying. Besides, I was getting some incredible photographs of the elk in other poses.

Everything came together for me on Tuesday, September 28th. I saw a bull cross the Route 555 toward the creek. I thought to myself, “he might actually cross the creek.” I waited, and watched, and waited some more. But all this bull did was eat acorns! He must have been hungry because after he ate a whole bunch of acorns, he lay down only to get up some time later to continue eating acorns!

I eventually felt I had photographed this bull enough and traveled upstream to meet my photo buddies. They were onto some cows and a nice bull. I decided to set up near the creek even though they thought the action was over. It wasn’t long until we saw some movement and the cows starting to move toward and then into the creek. One by one they carefully crossed the creek while we clicked away. It was so exciting to see my dream shots coming true but I silently worried that somehow I had missed the shots, had some camera settings wrong, or didn’t have my focus set right. I had to wait to see my photos later to be sure I got these water-crossing shots. Here are just a couple.

A Beautiful Rainy Morning

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Last Tuesday morning greeted us with dark, cloudy skies and rain. What are we to do when leading a photo trip and the sky is leaking rain? Dick and I were leading our Pennsylvania Elk Photography Experience and decided to endure the weather and look for elk. We were not disappointed. In fact, we saw numerous elk even though it was raining hard at times. We stumbled upon two bulls near the Hick Run Viewing Area and began to photograph them.

It wasn’t long before the one bull disappeared into the woods. But another one was making his way toward the creek. I’ve been wanting to get a photograph of an elk in the water for a long time, so I followed this bull hoping he would cross the creek. This never happened, but I spent over two hours photographing this bull as he ate acorn after acorn and then even laid down to chew his cud. It always amazes me how gentle and accommodating these large animals can be at times.

This bull did not cross the creek, but some nearby cows and another bull did. But that is a story for another day.

What a Week!

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There is no place like the mountains, especially when the rut is in! I love Elk County, Pennsylvania and just spent the last week there. It was nothing short of awesome!

Unfortunately, we had quite a bit of rain which tried to put a damper on things, but it didn’t work. Being with friends and fellow photographers and photographing the elk even in the rain made the week an exciting experience. I  had a blast and cannot wait to be back on the elk range again.

My friend and photographer, Dick McCreight, and I led our fifth Pennsylvania Elk Photography Experience and we sure saw a lot of elk throughout the week. Even when it did rain we still saw elk. In fact, they seemed much less bothered by the precipitation than we did. I find it amazing how well these beautiful creatures weather the storms literally! God made them special to be sure!

Here is one photograph of a bull elk standing the rain. It is a close-up shot of his face and antlers. You can see how wet he is from the rain but he was not bothered by it in the least. It all reminds me that many of us complain and complain to no avail. Life is what we make it. These elk live each day in both sunshine and rain, and so should we! Let it rain because it sure doesn’t seem to bother the elk!

Time to Be in the Mountians!

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I can feel it. The weather is slowly changing as the evenings and mornings are getting cooler. The leaves on the trees are starting to show some hints that their colors might soon be changing, too. Yep, I can feel it–it’s time to be in the mountains again!

I absolutely love this time of year. It is so beautiful and even the wildlife is becoming more active. The breeding season of the elk feature bugle sounds and sights that are breathtaking and photogenic.

This weekend I will be in the mountains with my son, James, to see and photograph the elk. I can’t wait. It’s only going to be a one day trip but at least we will see firsthand how the elk rut is going. We hope to hear some ear-piercing bugles, see some sparing, and capture some of this action with our cameras. It’s going to be sweet!

There is no place like the mountains and there is no place I’d rather be than in the mountains behind my viewfinder!

Here’s a photo of my colleague and professional photographer, Dick McCreight behind his viewfinder.

Close-ups

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My son, James, thoroughly enjoys and has a passion for macro photography. He’s got a good eye and likes to get close and the closer the better.

I dabbled in macro photography over the years but my son taught me to look at things in a new way. Now when I am on a photo shoot I wonder how James is seeing things. What might we photograph in this location? When we go to a photo shoot together I get to see him in action and observe how his photo-mind works.

This past winter I was leading our PA Elk Photography Experience when we came across three horses running and playing the snowy pasture. They put on an impressive display for us with snow falling from the sky and flying off the horses’ hooves. It was an action-packed shoot that we encountered unexpectedly. In the midst of this opportunity we took some close-ups of the horses’ eyes. Here is one that I captured.