Category Archives: Pennsylvania Elk

Elk County Visitor Center Looks Great!

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This past weekend my son and I were up on the elk range. We were thrilled to see lots of elk and some nice bulls. We also had the chance to make our first visit to the newly opened Elk County Visitor Center. I was not quite sure what to expect. I mean I heard all the reports touting how great the center was going be, but I guess I can be somewhat cynical at times. I am also a Doubting Thomas as well. Rather believing all the hype, I say the proof is in the pudding.

So I drove up the driveway of the Elk Center without many high expectations. When we arrived I liked the appearance of the new building but still took a kind of wait-and-see approach to my impression. Well, let me tell you, the Visitor Center if very nice and it looks great! The architects and those who had the vision for this building did many things right. The building is attractive and creative at the same time. It appears that the intention is to share and teach information about the Pennsylvania elk herd and they are already achieving this goal in a big way.

The displays in the main room are interactive and informative. Volunteers were present to answer questions and talk about the elk herd, proper viewing etiquette, and questions about the center. The theater presentation was creative and informative and fun to watch. Over all, the new center impressed me even though I entered the building with a non-impressive attitude. I really liked what I saw and experienced in the Elk County Visitor Center.

I hope you get a chance to see it, too. And when you do I’d love to hear your impressions on the new center.

Here are a couple photos I captured on my trip.


The PA Elk Rut is On!

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This weekend in Elk County proved to me that the PA elk rut has begun. We heard a lot of bugling, saw some bulls getting into a frenzy, and saw the aftermath of a fight for dominance. Yes, the rut has begun! I think it is only really starting and in my opinion will be in full swing sometime this week. I saw several bulls chasing cows, one intently, but I did not witness any mounts or breeding.

The traffic up on Winslow Hill was unbelievable to me. Admittedly, it has been quite some time since I was on the elk range on a Saturday, but the number of cars and traffic jams was surprising to me.

The elk did not seem to mind in the least though. They went about their business as usual. We saw some decent sized harems being managed by some nice bulls. And we saw bulls every time we went out. In fact, some bulls were nice. We saw two bulls that were at least a 7×7 or 8×7. Even the lesser bulls seemed to have nice mass to their antlers. The cows seemed healthy but not yet ready to mate. We also saw a few calves that are growing up quickly.

Here are four photographs from our one-day trip this weekend.

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.

September Bulls

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I like the fall season. I suppose there are many reasons for me preferring this time of year. First, I played football on my  high school team, so this time of year always reminds me of that. I just received word last night that one of my coaches, Mr. Kuhnert, died this week. He was also my Earth Science teacher in 9th grade and he was a great teacher and encouraging coach. I will miss him but when the fall season approaches my thoughts always turn to football. Another reason I like fall is because I am a hunter. Last, but certainly not least, it is the most active time for the elk. It all starts in September and I cannot wait to get up on the elk range!

I posted a photo here today from a trip I was on last fall. It was a misty, foggy morning but the bull was bugling to beat the band. Have you ever heard an elk bugle? Have you ever watched two bull elk duke it out for breeding rights? These are just the tip of the iceberg sights and sounds that me excited at this time of year. I can’t wait to see the elk in action.

Rounded Corners with Lightroom

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This tip came from Matt Kloskowski on his Killer Lightroom Tips blog.

I’ve mentioned previously that Lightroom is powerful. It really is. And this tip is just one more example behind some of the unexpected power in this interesting software package. One of the main selling points of Lightroom to me was that it manages my photos, allows me to edit them, and provides ways to export the photos for use on web galleries, in email messages, or as physical prints. This all-in-one software even has me reaching for Photoshop less and less. The latest upgrade to 3.0 includes some really nice features and I am still learning some of the many features found in Lightroom.

The rounded corners tip makes for some interesting prints or photos to display on the web. You can learn the steps to make your own rounded corners by checking out Matt Kloskowski’s blog.

Here is my example of Matt’s tip. Pretty cool, huh? And all done in Lightroom.

These Photos Didn’t Quite Make the Cut

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I enjoy the editing process of photography. After an event or outdoor photo shoot, I come back to my studio to edit the photos and see just what I captured. The first part of the process for me is picking the best photos. I use Lightroom 3.0 now and have learned how to quickly go through a large number of photographs and select the best ones. I mark them as picked by pressing the “P” key. Then I go back over these selected photos again to really narrow down the very best of the best. I mark these with a green label and then give them a star rating depending on the strength of each individual photo.

Last week I came home and had 72 photos that I picked and then narrowed this down to 11 of what I considered to be the best of the best of this photo shoot. These are the ones I show on my website, to colleagues, and to friends. Most of my friends don’t have the patience or willingness to sit through a slide show of all the photos I took or even the ones I think are the best. Showing our best work is an important part of the editing process.

I make sure to take the time to edit my picked photos and spend a little extra editing time with the best of the best, which are going to be seen by others. I am quite picky in this process but then I expect big things of my photography. Sadly, this means there are many photos that almost make this selection process but are just out of reach to making the best of the best category.

Here are three examples. The first one was very close to being selected, but I just didn’t feel the colors were quite right and I wished I had more of this eating bull in the image. It’s close, but didn’t make my final cut. The second one was also close to making it. I really liked how we can see the bull’s tongue coming out of his mouth in this photo, but again the colors were kind of flat. (The light wasn’t very good that evening.) It was just shy of impressing me enough to be picked as the best of the best. The third image has some weeds in-between the camera and the bull. This was distracting enough to be the worst of these three and not good enough to make the final cut. I certainly won’t trash these photos, but they just didn’t quite make the final cut.

Eat Up!

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Female cows are getting ready for the upcoming rut, too. This results in a tremendous amount of eating!

Last week we saw a cow feeding right alongside the road. She was content to keep eating even as we slowed down and brought our truck to a stop. Remembering how Lennie Rue talks about using your vehicle as a blind, we stayed in our truck. The cow was on my driver’s side, so all I had to do was roll my window down and start shooting. My  son, James, rolled his window down and slowly sat up on top of the window opening and shot over the roof of the truck. And all the while, the cow just kept on eating. These two photographs show in detail the eating process and the content of what she was eating, too!

Cows and bulls both are getting ready for the rut. They will expend a lot of energy during the breeding season so they need to eat up now! They are eating and will be ready for the rut. Will you be ready to photograph them?

Yeah, We’re Friends Now

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These two bulls were posing side-by-side for us last week in the middle of August. They seem to be good friends as they stand there in the field. Next month it will be a different story!

These two boys will go from friends to foe as they will be competing for breeding rights. I cannot wait for the rut! I generally like fall anyway–in fact, it is my most favorite time of the year. But when the elk activity at this time of year is added in, this time of year is simply magical! Bulls will be bugling and getting very excited, which makes any wildlife photographer excited as well! The rut is just around the corner and I definitely plan to be on the elk range for this wonderful and wild experience!

Yep, they might  look like good friends now, but just wait until next month!

Velvet Be Gone!

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This is an interesting time of the year for bull elk. Antler growth has occurred for some time now. The antlers, coated in velvet to provide nutrition for growth, are nearly done growing. The velvet that was so vital to their growth is now just in the way. It is starting to peel and fall off the antler. From what I witnessed last week, it seemed to me that the bull’s experience some form of itchiness and some low-level but annoying experiences now with this velvet. They rub their antlers on trees and bushes, shake their head from side to side, and even try to use their back hoofs to scratch the velvet off their antlers!

The breeding season is only about a month away, so eating and gaining strength and energy are critical if a bull expects to be in the running for a harem. Yes, this certainly is an interesting time of the year for the bulls.

Last week I captured two shots of bulls in this velvet shed. The first is a better photo in my opinion, but the bull is wearing a collar. This is not uncommon and the Pennsylvania Game Commission often uses collar transmitters to track elk and learn more about their behavior. It is a great tool for the biologists, but not so attractive in a photograph. My son has a great perspective on this that I definitely agree with. He says, get over it dad, it’s part of the story of the elk, so let the collar be seen. Okay, but it could have been such a great, breath-taking photograph…. okay, calm down, listen to my son’s logic. This is part of the elk story. Get over it.

I am so glad that we have elk in Pennsylvania. I am witness to the habitat improvement that not only supports the elk in our state, but many other wildlife species as well! On our property up on Winslow Hill we routinely and regularly see deer, rabbits, turkey, and grouse. We also see an occasional black bear or coyote, and much more! This careful and calculated protection of the land is vital for the survival of the elk herd and also supports all kinds of wildlife.

The elk are amazing animals. I can literally sit and watch an elk, even a cow, for hours. Some people only get excited about the big bulls, but I don’t care if it’s a bull, a calf, or a cow; they’re all fascinating and beautiful to me!

Here are two photos of the elk as they are beginning to shed their velvet. Look at the antler growth of these tremendous bulls and notice the velvet hanging down from their antlers. The first one is wearing a collar, but remember, this is part of the elk story. The second one looks a little more wild, and he was the one who I watched as he tried to scratch his antler with his hind hoof. I imagined it was an itchy experience and the big ole’ bull was thinking, “Velvet be gone!”

The Small Ones Attract Attention

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I was fortunate last week to spend some time in the mountains photographing the Pennsylvania elk with my son, James. We had a limited time and it rained much of the time. I took 1,122 photos and was pleased with 72 of them. Not too bad considering the lousy weather conditions. We got lucky getting onto elk early and often. By all standards it was a great trip!

I returned home and created a slide show of my 10 best photos to share on the website. I put that link in my previous blog entry 3 days ago. I received many encouraging and positive comments about these photos, but the amazing thing to me was just how much attention the photos of the elk calves received. It was truly amazing to me! Now, don’t get me wrong, I like the little ones, too, but I just didn’t expect these photos to draw so much attention over the others. There seems to be something special about these small ones.

Similar to our human experience, these little elk grow up fast! They still have their spots in August, but that will change rather quickly and they are already much bigger than when they were first-born two months ago. Time definitely has a way of marching on quickly!

Here are three photos of elk calves that I was able to capture last week. I can already hear some folk saying, “Ahhh, aren’t they so cute?” Yep, the small ones do attract attention!