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Archive 2015 · Mountains, Moose, and a story

  
 
Andrew Kane
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Mountains, Moose, and a story




This Winter I made a spur of the moment trip to Jackson Hole in search of a great image with bull moose in front of the Tetons. I had seen a few images from another photographer friend of mine which were spectacular. These images got me fired up and I knew that the moose were there and now was the time to go shoot. I packed up the truck monday evening and headed for Jackson. Upon arrival it was -17 degrees and there was a lot of snow on the grounds and road. I found a hotel, and got settled in for the night, excited to see what was in store for me tomorrow.
I woke up about an hour before sunrise, put on as many warm clothes as I could find, and headed out into the cold. The sun seemed to take forever to start to light up the sky. There was heavy cloud cover and it was snowing. I soon found the moose with the help of a friend, but conditions were far from ideal for shooting and the moose were pretty far off. I spent all day watching them, fighting off frostbite in my fingers and toes, trying to develop a strategy. That evening I noticed that right around sunset they crossed into a different meadow which had the amazing Teton Mountain Range right in the background. Bingo. I knew where I needed to be for the rest of my week. I didn’t get to shoot much on tuesday because the light never really was very good, but I had plenty of info on where they would be tomorrow.
Wednesday morning I woke up even earlier, but as I peeked outside I could see the sky was already a lighter shade of blue, and that sunrise was coming quickly. Franticly I threw on my gear, grabbed the dog, and jumped in the truck. When I got to my spot, the moose were already in position in front of the mountains. There were 4 bulls and 3 cows, of varying sizes. I got positioned, and was just waiting for enough light to shoot. As the sun slowly crept up and burned off the fog, I started shooting. It was some of the best moose action I have had, but I knew that in a few minutes the sun would come over the top of the mountain and the bulls would be bathed in golden light. Everything was pointing towards a photographic home run. The moose began to meander towards the other side of the meadow, and I was practically begging the sun to pop over the mountains before the moose headed into the trees, but to my dismay, the moose wandered off. Within minutes of them leaving, the sun came up and the now empty meadow became a brilliant golden orange. Even though there were no moose, it still made for a killer landscape shot. Slightly frustrated, I went back to town to get some coffee and prepare for the afternoon shot.
I returned to the meadow around 2:00, leaving me plenty of time to get set up. I could see the moose off in the distance and they were very slowly coming my way. The light was only getting better, and I just hoped that the moose would make it over in front of the mountains before the sun went down. The minutes ticked by, and the moose got closer. The two large bulls were now ready to cross into the meadow, and I just knew it was all going to come together. The light was as epic as ever, and it looked like it would be perfect. The clock was ticking, and my heart was racing. The two bulls walked within a few feet of where I was staked out in the meadow, heading over to that perfect spot. I was terrified, but had to stay focused. I couldn’t tell if I was shaking from hypothermia or just excitement. A third bull now joined them, and they were in position, but their heads were all down. Part of me wanted to make a sound to get them to look up so that I could get the shot, but the ethical photographer angel sitting on my other shoulder won over and I remained silent. Then, disaster struck. The sun that was holding on by a thread, fell behind the mountain and my light was gone. I was crushed. For the second time it was early perfect and sort of fell apart. To add insult to injury the bulls started fighting in front of the mountains, but they were now in the shadows. I shot a lot anyway, both footage and stills, hoping that they would turn out. As the last bit of light faded away, I tucked my tail between my legs and headed back to town.
Thursday morning... My last shot. A storm was moving in and I knew that by 10:00 it would be time for me to head home. I headed out to the meadow bright and early, well before the sun came up. The bulls were not there however. I was starting to get worried when I heard some loud crashing. Then out of nowhere here came the four bulls, running across the landscape. Frantically trying to move through the deep snow, I got into position. As they came in front of the tetons, I started filming, but the sun was nowhere to be seen. It was light outside, but very grey. Soon the bulls crossed over into their daytime spot in the trees with the cows. I looked over my shoulder to just see thick clouds, and knew it was over. I packed up and headed home, not sure how to feel about the trip.
While on this short trip, I learned a lot, and had my patience tested even more. The little devil on my shoulder was kicking me in the neck for not making a sound to get the bulls to pick up their heads during the short moment of magical light, but I knew I did the right thing. The last thing that I wanted to do was change the behavior of the animals that I strive to capture beautiful images of and protect. I got some great shots, but the perfectionist in me was on fire. I know I have to go back, whether it be later this winter of the weather ever gets better, or next year, I will get the perfect shot. This is what keeps me going, the passion inside to further improve upon already great images.





Nikon D4s 600VR







"Hierarchy" Screengrab from RED Dragon footage w/ Nikon 80-400VRII







Nikon D800e 70-200VRII







Nikon 800e 70-200VRII







Screengrab from RED Dragon footage w/ Nikon 14-24




Apr 03, 2015 at 06:34 PM
Ted ellis
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Mountains, Moose, and a story


Andrew... your last is my favorite in terms of image quality.

I love your story as it is one everyone here has experienced.

What is happening in image #2, it looks like two images poorly cloned together?



Apr 03, 2015 at 07:44 PM
OwlsEyes
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Mountains, Moose, and a story


Love the story and your perseverance... way to go.
Your moose pics are extraordinary. Hard to pick a favorite, but I think I'm partial to the line of moose w/ separated by fog. I would love to witness something like this, as I only see an isolated moose or mother and babes around here.

so many great shots!
bruce



Apr 03, 2015 at 07:50 PM
morris
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Mountains, Moose, and a story


2, 3, 4 and 5 are super images Andrew. I don't know if i would call this pre visualization though it's similar and worked great

Morris



Apr 03, 2015 at 08:26 PM
thehotel
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Mountains, Moose, and a story


These are IMHO keepers. It happens to all of us. The good thing is it gives us a reason to go back.

Wacky roger



Apr 03, 2015 at 08:32 PM
surfnron
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Mountains, Moose, and a story


You still managed to come away with some nice shots, and the landscape is a killer Andrew ~ Ron


Apr 03, 2015 at 09:47 PM
Andrew Kane
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Mountains, Moose, and a story


Thanks for the kind words Ted, Bruce, Roger, Morris, and Ron.

Ted, Not sure what you mean here? Are you seeing the line of fog separating the mountains from the moose?



Apr 03, 2015 at 11:59 PM
LuckyStrike
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Mountains, Moose, and a story


The images are super, despite that you were not able to get them in your ideal light conditions.

What makes your post so great is that you wrote a detailed description of your trip ,adding light and weather conditions and how you planned to achieve your shots. Thanks so much for taking the time to write this story and post these photos... I'm sure everyone on the forum will enjoy it! Very interesting!

LuckyT



Apr 04, 2015 at 12:15 AM
kmunroe
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Mountains, Moose, and a story


nice moose shots Andrew .. i enjoyed your story also


Apr 04, 2015 at 04:27 AM
Ted ellis
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Mountains, Moose, and a story


Andrew Kane wrote:
Thanks for the kind words Ted, Bruce, Roger, Morris, and Ron.

Ted, Not sure what you mean here? Are you seeing the line of fog separating the mountains from the moose?




Looking at it again today I see that now. TFS.

Ted



Apr 04, 2015 at 08:15 AM
JimLittle
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Mountains, Moose, and a story


Very well done!!


Apr 04, 2015 at 08:31 AM
David Leask
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Mountains, Moose, and a story


Text and photos are great Andrew, a most enjoyable post
David



Apr 04, 2015 at 11:55 AM
pbraymond
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Mountains, Moose, and a story


Wonderful posts, thanks for taking the time to write it. Sounds like a great experience, and though you did not get everything you had visualized you still got some great keepers!


Apr 04, 2015 at 12:01 PM
shac
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Mountains, Moose, and a story


Andrew - great images and v. interesting write-up - Thanks
David



Apr 04, 2015 at 01:12 PM
MS PHOTO
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Mountains, Moose, and a story


Great story Andrew,thats what keeps us going back for the next great shot.Thanks for sharing.
Paul



Apr 04, 2015 at 02:57 PM
JR Photo
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Mountains, Moose, and a story


Good job! Nothing like our cold.

J. R.



Apr 04, 2015 at 03:08 PM





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