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Elk skirmish
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Elk skirmish

by Bob McQuade

Gallery: WildlifePosted October 14, 2013144 views5 comments
D800 18-200mm @200mm F6.7 1/350 ISO 800

Taken in Yellowstone NP last month. I spent close to month in Yellowstone hoping to catch some battle scenes during the elk rut. This was the only battle I was able to witness and it occurred so early in the morning, there was precious little light to work with, thus the rather flat image and marginal DOF and shutter speed.

Comments

5 comments
Comment posted by Max Waugh on October 14, 2013 at 1:28 PM
Bob, I love the background here. Is this at Mammoth? If so, you did a nice job of eliminating any man-made elements (always a big issue for me there).

Max
Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments
Comment posted by Bob McQuade on October 14, 2013 at 7:56 PM
Max

Yes, actually taken in town. The reason for the vertical crop is just what you may suspect.
Registered on October 8, 2009, 214 Posts, 432 Comments
Comment posted by Richard Teller on October 14, 2013 at 11:05 PM
I think you did a fine job with this image. You have eye contact from both bulls and they are in a good action pose. I like it and would like to have an image like this in my file.
Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments
Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on October 15, 2013 at 1:19 AM
Good head poses here Bob with the eyes of both clear and sharp. Luckily the pano crop suits this. :wink:
Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments
Comment posted by Robert Bunch on October 19, 2013 at 2:57 PM
This is a really nice shot. Good views of both their heads, the eyes and good action poses. Some years ago I saw a great, but brief, battle on the hills around Mammoth. I had some good shots but they were all marred by the sage brush blocking parts of their heads and faces. From a photo standpoint these two guys picked a good place to fight it out and you made the most of the opportunity. Well done.
Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments