How would you like to see the majestic Pennsylvania elk every month of the year?
Many of us enjoy getting to see the elk firsthand, but we just do not have the time to make trips to the elk range often enough. The mountains beckon but we cannot always heed their call.
Enter the 2010 PA Elk Calendar. This calendar features photographs I took of the elk and there is one for every month of the year plus another photo on the cover. You can see the photographs I included by going to my website. You can also order a calendar if you so desire.
I enjoyed the process of selecting the photographs for this calendar, but it was not easy narrowing down the final selections. Take a look for yourself and let me know what you think of this elk calendar.
I am up to my eyeballs in elk photos and I love it!
I am currently working on a project that I am hoping to unveil later this month. I have been looking back over my elk photographs and this exercise alone has been a wonderful experience. Sure, I see some old photographs that I hope will never see the light of day, but I also see a progression of my photography technique and how it has improved over the years.
Looking back through these photographs took my mind back to many times spent up on the elk range. It really is a beautiful place, like none other. And as I am known to repeat, “There is no place like the mountains!”
I don’t just say it, I believe it. We live on Effort Mountain in the beautiful Poconos of northeast Pennsylvania. Our elevation here is actually a bit higher than Winslow Hill. We do get a decent amount of snow each year, but nowhere near the amount Elk County receives. And there are no elk here in the Poconos.
So, short of driving the 3-hour trip to my favorite spot in the world, I am left looking through photographs taken while I was there in the past. I see the photos and can almost re-live many of the moments I snapped those photos. It is amazing how my mind can go back and recall specific details just from these photographs!
I will keep sifting through these photos, two of which I posted here for you see.
I was there three weeks ago and I am already mountain sick–which is my term for being home sick for the mountains. I just cannot get enough of the mountains or the majestic Pennsylvania elk.
Fortunately, other photographers and nature lovers feel the same way. There are several blogs that are definitely worth looking at. They feature some amazing elk photos, some video which includes the thrilling sound of bulls bugling, and lots of information about the elk culture. Here are some links that I hope you enjoy:
Well, as promised I have some photos of my newly constructed blind. Please don’t get overly excited about this because my blind is not really anything to write home about. It will not win any building awards, that’s for sure. My idea was inspired by Buckwheat, my photography friend who I’ve come to know up on the elk range. Buckwheat takes incredible wildlife photographs. His photos have graced the pages of Bugle Magazine and they have also been on the annual Elk Foundation calendars. Buckwheat knows his subjects and he takes some incredible and even breath-taking photographs.
Two weeks ago he was showing us a lot of his backyard bird photos. I asked all kinds of questions on how he did this and the main thing that stuck with me was that he photographed out of blind. I came home and got to work designing and then building a blind of my own.
The core construction is made out of 1 1/2 ” PVC pipe. It required four ten-foot lengths of pipe, four T-connectors, and eight elbows. I learned quickly that it is best to lay everything out the way you want it before gluing the connections. I purchased the camouflaged material from Walmart and I believe it was manufactured by Remington. I used rope to secure the material to the frame. The roof is a piece of corrugated roofing, which I purchased at Lowes. I got a 50% discount because the piece was damaged on the edges, but it works for my blind! I secured the roof with u-bolts around the PVC frame.
I made sure to glue the pieces in a way which allows me to disassemble the frame so I can store it or move it to another location very easily. It is nothing fancy, but it allows me to get closer to the wildlife I am photographing.
Life in the blind is starting to be a welcome experience for me. I had read and heard about the use of blinds for wildlife photography, but until I constructed one myself and actually used it I had no idea how helpful a blind could be for me. It is awesome!
Today I am posting a photo of a deer who apparently has an itch. I like this photo because it shows something unique and oddly similar to our human itchiness. Do you have an itch? Do you dare scratch your itch in public? Well, this deer don’t care. Look at her scratching her itch. I can just imagine her thoughts: “Ooooo, that feels so good!”
Tomorrow, if the weather cooperates, I am hoping to have a few photos of my newly constructed blind. It was easy and inexpensive to build and the results didn’t turn out half bad. I am excited about the photos I should be able to get while hiding out in this blind! I will even be able to scratch my itch without worrying that I might scare off an animal!
I am enjoying the new blind I constructed this week. Today I made some refinements by gluing some additional connections, using rope to hang the camouflage material, and adding a corrugated roof. The blind is really starting to take shape now.
The few remaining steps include painting the basic structure and making some perches for the birds to use on their way to and from our bird feeder.
Today’s photograph is of a chipmunk that we’ve been seeing for some time. Since I was in the blind, he never knew I was there when he struck this pose. It’s not a great photo by any means, but it gives me much hope that this blind is going to really enhance my wildlife photography!
Motivated by hearing Buchwheat talking about and showing his photographs that he took from his blind, I decided to make my own. So last night, I went to Lowes to purchase some PVC pipe. Today I assembled a basic structure out of this PVC pipe. I cut the pipes to length and then glued some but not all of the connections. After all, my goal was to make this blind somewhat portable.
Previously I had found some very nice camouflage material, which my son and I were able to secure around the PVC structure.I put my tripod and archer’s chair in the blind and waited. It didn’t take long for the action to pick up. I positioned the blind so I have a good view of birds coming and going from our bird feeder. I snapped a few photos of the birds, and then I saw two deer!
We still have a little work to do on the blind, including attaching the corrugated roof. But overall I am very pleased with the results and it sure seems to work well. What do you think of this photo, which was taken from my new blind?
In upcoming posts I will share more photos taken today–the first day in my new blind. I will also share some photos of the blind and describe in more detail how I constructed it.
What do you think about the technique of framing your subject by something in the scene, like a tree limb?
Framing is a technique that’s been around for many years. Some people like it and some don’t. Usually, as in the photo below, the object doing the framing is out of focus. This allows the subject to remain prominent. The idea is to use a natural object to provide a frame around the main subject.
Those who don’t like it content that it makes the photo “busy” thus drawing attention away from the main subject.
Take a look at the photo below and decide what you think. Is framing something that provides some creativity to a shot or is it just busy? Framing can provide some interesting photos in my humble opinion, but hey photography is art so just because I like using this technique doesn’t mean you will.
The beautiful elk in Pennsylvania provide plenty of different camera angles for us to capture. We photograph them in the rut, while they are eating and grazing, and even sometimes when they are bedded down sleeping. Some of us just cannot get enough of these magnificent creatures and we still have a number of dream shots we would still like to capture!
Last week, when we were watching a small herd being controlled by a big bull, several other bulls came in to make a challenge for the cows. Early on in the evening we saw this bull moving toward the action. I snapped several shots as he made his way toward the cows, but this one specific shot presented itself and I could not resist.
The water is in a limestone filter that is being used to reclaim the polluted waters from the strip mining that was done in the area. I just thought the reflection from the water presented a different composition than what I saw previously. What do you think of it?
