Eatin' the daisies

Gallery: WildlifePosted August 18, 2011140 views5 comments

I saw this moose while photographing black bears along the road in Yukon. It was spring, and they were out along the edges of the forests eating all the young shoots. They especially seemed to like the dandelions (dandelion salad is popular in health food restaurants:).
We were in the area for several days, and each morning and evening we cruised the 10 or so miles of road where they seemed to congregate. This was in the late afternoon - around 6pm in summer. The light was low, and the biggest challenge was waiting for him to turn his antlers so I could catch an eye. That rack cast a big shadow!
Summer, 2010 during a 4mo trip to Alaska. BTW, I took a lot of bear shots, too.

Nikon D300; 80-400mm VR f4.5-5.6
1/1000sec @ f/8; 180mm; ISO 400

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on August 18, 2011 at 12:10 PM

Back in the day, my mom cooked dandelion greens; not my favorite veggie! Glad to see the moose enjoys them.

Harsh light and a busy BG made for a challenging shot. A good look at the eye, good detail and the mouthful are the pluses here.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on August 18, 2011 at 2:03 PM

That rack is impressive! Unfortunately it does cast a big shadow across the face and body. The flower in the mouth is s great detail. I would suggest to back down on the contrast a bit though Margaret. Looking at the low angle of the light it should not give such a contrasty lighting. A pity also that this scene did not allow you to separate the subject better from the BG.

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

Comment posted by John Tobias on August 18, 2011 at 3:43 PM

Trying to avoid shadows cast by antlers can sometimes be an impossible task. I like the pose you have got this big guy in! The BG is busy, but you got to do the best you can with what you get. I agree lowering the contrast just a bit may improve this photo. Thanks for sharing.

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

Comment posted by Andrew Sentipal on August 18, 2011 at 8:31 PM

Margaret,

Thanks for sharing. The flowers on the ground and in the mouth make this even better. A very slight blurring of the background might make the moose standout a little better from the background. All the other nits are covered. I like this view with those velvet antlers.

Andrew

Registered on February 16, 2008, 200 Posts, 317 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on August 19, 2011 at 10:31 AM

You did a good job of getting the look back and reflective eye. It is really too bad the light was so bright as to create those strong shadows. I like the flowers in mouth!

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