Trail Ridge Elk, RMNP

Gallery: WildlifePosted August 2, 2011356 views17 comments

I went to Rocky Mountain National Park recently to photograph the full moon setting behind the Never Summer Range at about the same time of sunrise. A little bit later that morning I traveled along Trail Ridge Road and was able to see several elk in velvet antlers with some fantastic tundra backdrops nearby. In this image the sun was just rising over a ridge to the left creating the warm spotlight on this elk's antlers and eye. I was lucky to get the Colorado 14er Longs Peak framed well in the background too.

Other photos from that morning on the RMNP Forum

Comments

17 comments

Comment posted by Verdon on August 2, 2011 at 2:23 PM

sweet shot, great light!

Registered on June 10, 2011, 147 Posts, 1444 Comments

Comment posted by Soubhik Patranabis on August 2, 2011 at 3:45 PM

Great shot ! love the light.

Registered on January 25, 2010, 54 Posts, 610 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on August 2, 2011 at 3:52 PM

Love the depth, BG, pose and the light hitting the antlers just right! Congrats

I might consider a very slight shadow recovery on the FG?

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on August 2, 2011 at 3:53 PM

I think it would have been nice if you could have gotten more light on the elk, but I also think you have handled the light just fine. Impressive image. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on August 2, 2011 at 4:29 PM

The light is very nice, and I think the glowing gold of the velvet and fur really complements the cool tones of the background.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Butch Lama on August 2, 2011 at 6:18 PM

Beautiful lights on the antlers & a great BG.

Registered on July 23, 2010, 42 Posts, 316 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Runco on August 3, 2011 at 3:24 AM

Really nice capture Joshua - I love the light on the antlers, and the fact that you were able to get the peak in the bg is great. Colorado at it's finest, makes me a bit homesick.

Registered on September 9, 2008, 77 Posts, 705 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on August 3, 2011 at 9:34 AM

The light on the antlers is terrific as is the scenery.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on August 3, 2011 at 10:56 AM

Very very nice as posted. I agree it might be worth tweaking for a touch more shadow detail, if you can retain the natural look.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on August 3, 2011 at 1:09 PM

That spot light works miracles Joshua! Without that lovely warm light hitting those antlers this would not work at all, but now this is magic.

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on August 3, 2011 at 11:02 PM

Beautiful capture, all round! Wish you had posted a larger photo.

Registered on December 19, 2008, 302 Posts, 2055 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on August 5, 2011 at 1:45 AM

Long's Peak and a beautiful bull elk in great light in the same photo, it doesn't get much sweeter than that. Awesome Photo Joshua! Makes me homesick.

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on August 5, 2011 at 3:10 AM

Great inclusion of habitat, the dark FG is a bit of a nuisance as Morkel said a very gentle lightening might assist.

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Robbie Knight on August 7, 2011 at 12:48 AM

agree with the other cmts -- thanks for sharing this is a great capture.

Registered on April 10, 2010, 30 Posts, 135 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Walters on August 7, 2011 at 10:50 PM

Very cool! Like the light and shadow areas. Really nice you got some of the light right on the eye.

Registered on October 30, 2005, 405 Posts, 3693 Comments

Comment posted by Joshua Hardin on August 8, 2011 at 8:50 PM

Thanks to everyone for the comments. I'm inclined to keep the body of the elk and foreground somewhat dark in order to put more emphasis on the antler/eye spotlighting but your feedback on the level of shadow recovery here is appreciated.

Registered on July 29, 2006, 40 Posts, 414 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Hayden on August 9, 2011 at 11:05 PM

This is one of those lucky, unexpected shots. I would agree with others that you should try to bring out some shadow detail. If it was at all possible, and I would guess it was not, an aperature that gave a bit more sharpness to the background would make this better. Just my opinion. I'd be interested to hear from Brad or other moderators on this. Anyway, a great capture. Wish I were there.

Registered on November 21, 2009, 41 Posts, 201 Comments