Monday, December 10, 2007

Pennsylvania Elk Photography


With Willard focusing on the issues surrounding the Pennsylvania Elk I decided to post this photo I captured during my trip to the Pennsylvania elk range this past September.

This is one of the “wild” bulls being followed and photographed by a prominent Pennsylvania elk guide. This gentleman guides both photographers and hunters.
Some make much of this being a fair chase hunt and not a “High Fence (canned)” hunt, but with the degree of acclimation I have observed in this herd their can be little or no noticeable difference.

This photograph illustrates the tolerance the Pa. Elk have for humans.
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14 comments:

  1. DeeMomMon Dec 10, 08:41:00 PM EST

    OH MY GOSH, that is awesome...jsut to have been a person that carried the cameras would have been so AMAZING

    WOW

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  2. MeggieMon Dec 10, 10:39:00 PM EST

    Wow! That is one big boy!

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  3. photowannabeMon Dec 10, 11:06:00 PM EST

    I like when a single picture can tel a story. this is a super shot.

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  4. AnonymousTue Dec 11, 05:18:00 AM EST

    My knees shake like crazy if I were in that photographer's shoes. Wow. What a picture. I like his lens too. I bet is is faster than mine though and that makes me sorta jealous.

    My knees used to shake when I was outside talking to hawks and they were hopping ahead of me on the fence. I would sometimes get so close I couldn't get the camera to focus. So I would have to back up. I just cannot imagine getting close, like this, to elk, deer, or bear, not to mention foxes and wolves. But I would give it a shot if I could.

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  5. Coy HillTue Dec 11, 06:29:00 AM EST

    Abe,
    It appears that he is shooting a Canon 100-400 1:4.5-5.6L, a good all around lens for wildlife.

    It is exciting getting close to those big guys, quite an adrenalin rush!

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  6. lv2scpbkTue Dec 11, 08:28:00 AM EST

    Love that long lens on the camera. Nice photo.

    Today, take a ride on Santa's Railroad car sleigh.

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  7. TomTue Dec 11, 01:38:00 PM EST

    Hi Salty...
    Feeling alright at the moment, so thought I'd catch up on your captures.
    What a great picture of such a wild beast ;o) in all it's untamed beauty.
    oh! what I meant was "what a great place to go with your camera for some great shots of the Elk" ... isn't good how they can tell the difference between gun and camera, and hunter and wild life photographer.

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  8. imacTue Dec 11, 02:09:00 PM EST

    Just magnifico.

    The Elk
    The Lens
    The place.

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  9. WillardTue Dec 11, 09:33:00 PM EST

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. WillardTue Dec 11, 09:34:00 PM EST

    I know that guide, and I do know that is indeed a 100-400mm Canon L lens.

    It is a variable aperture zoom with f3.5 at 100mm and f5.6 at 400mm vs a constant f4 with the 70-200 that Abe has. It does have good range and good image quality.

    While this shot was taken in the no hunt zone, these animals easily can be in the hunt zone when season arrives.

    The person in the photograph guides both photographic safaris and rifle and bow hunts for elk in season.

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  11. roentareWed Dec 12, 05:28:00 AM EST

    Seeing you taking shots of elk is quite a feast on its own!

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  12. Tina LeighWed Dec 12, 09:45:00 PM EST

    What a beautiful picture! Massive rack there. For that fella to get so close....it looks like a scene from Cataloochie Valley. I cant imagine hunting those elk. Well that wouldnt even be hunting. I hope your brother is able to get some protection for them. He said he wasn't much of a talker....wish I could do it for him...I could talk to a dead burt stump or the president of any given country without a problem! I really love that picture.

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  13. Lori Schmidt (LoriProPhoto)Sun Dec 16, 11:50:00 AM EST

    I suspect that Abe now has the 70-200 2.8 lens with 1.4x converter. I have this lens but not the extender so am jealous LOL.

    We have an Elk farm a few miles from us. I am too scared to ask what the deal is with this type of operation but last winter I got a few shots of some of the animals when there was still a bit of snow on the ground. I wanted to go back for months and talk to the owners and perhaps get permission to shoot (I dont like just assuming that I can even if I am shooting from the road which is legal). Eventually I did get back there and there were no animals in sight so I assumed that they had closed the operation.

    A few weeks ago I happened to go past there again and there were a while bunch of new herds. I keep telling myself to get on over there but never seem to!!! I would much rather see them in a natural environment though.

    I think I posted pictures of them in my blog around February this year, will have to go and check. Beautiful animals.

    Lori

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  14. Lori Schmidt (LoriProPhoto)Sun Dec 16, 11:54:00 AM EST

    Just checked, here is the link to my Elk, nowhere near as majestic as your boy here though.

    http://prophotobylori.blogspot.com/2007/02/27-february-2007.html

    Lori

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Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate the visits and comments as long as the comments are respectful of others views and contain no profanity.

Thanks again
Coy