You just never know WHO you will run into out in the wilderness.
I blew the day off from work (bummer) yesterday and had the great pleasure to finally meet someone that I consider one of my greatest mentors in my photographic journey.
I think some of you might know him!
We didn't get a whole lot of shooting done, well except for shooting the chit a lot. But we had a great time just getting out there and experiencing our passion for photography together.
At one point we actually became part of the herd! A little unnerving at times but wow what an experience!
And what an experience we had! I have been up to the valley many times this year trying to get a particular shot but the Elk had all but disappeared all season. Maybe 5 cows and a couple of mature bulls.
Not yesterday! There were Elk everywhere when we arrived as the sun was just coming up. Not a lot of mature bulls but we had counted over 37 elk at one point in just a single field!
And we had the entire valley to ourselves! Very peaceful with the occasional bugling elk echoing through the mountains.
I didn't get too many shots off as I was a little limited on storage space.
Don't say a word Kent.
Hopefully you got a few of the little guys fighting/sparring. I was too busy "culling on the go" and didn't get them.
Kent- It was absolutely fantastic to finally meet you! I had a blast and enjoyed picking your brain face to face rather than through the keyboard for a change. Hope I didn't ask too many questions.
We need to do this again when the area isn't a ghost town and all gates are open.
You know you had a fulfilling day when you leave in the morning in the dark and return home that evening in the dark with a big grin on your face!
Edit: might have a little color cast going on now that I see them posted up here.
Dave
Ummm... the critters are the other direction Kent!
So cool that you guys got to link up and go on a shoot together!
Always fun to see behind the scenes of the regular cast of characters around here.
I'm only seeing a yellowish cast on my work monitor (which I guess when you think about it is representative of what most monitors would be like) on #4.
#5 and #6 are nice bulls, but the background is killing you. #6 could use some shadow recovery around the neck and legs.
I like the contrast of the bright grass and dark elk in #7, but I'm not so sure about the OOF bull on the left. Is he an added framing element for the young guy there or a distraction that doesn't add much to the scene? Might be a bit too much negative space in this one for me.
#8 is tops of the bunch by far IMO. Great portrait! Solid detail, background and pose.
beavens wrote:
So cool that you guys got to link up and go on a shoot together!
Always fun to see behind the scenes of the regular cast of characters around here.
I'm only seeing a yellowish cast on my work monitor (which I guess when you think about it is representative of what most monitors would be like) on #4.
#5 and #6 are nice bulls, but the background is killing you. #6 could use some shadow recovery around the neck and legs.
I like the contrast of the bright grass and dark elk in #7, but I'm not so sure about the OOF bull on the left. Is he an added framing element for the young guy there or a distraction that doesn't add much to the scene? Might be a bit too much negative space in this one for me.
#8 is tops of the bunch by far IMO. Great portrait! Solid detail, background and pose.
Thanks for the critique Jeff! I thought I saw something funky with #4. I first just used the church to set the WB but that look even stranger. Not crazy about the BG on that one but I thought the little guy behind the sign was kinda funny.
Sorta like him stating that it's HIS turf.
Agree with you on #7 with the oof bulls, overall the image sucks.The reason I felt this one might work is because that is a very rare sighting to capture a Whitetail buck in the same vicinity as any Bull Elk. The whitetail was what I was trying to capture and snapped as he was running behind the bulls. You can see the bull on the right watching him even though the buck wasn't wasting anytime getting past them.
I think I heard Kent clicking about the same time so I hope he got the shot that I missed here.
In all honesty, I screwed up many shots because my head just wasn't in the game. I was more into the jabbering social part.
Dave
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ben egbert wrote:
Great series, great to see ya in person too. I really like 6 background and all, but have to agree that 8 is the standout.
Thanks Ben. I knew the BG in #6 wasn't ideal but I really liked that shot because most of my images are when they are out in the fields.
That isn't me! I'm about 3 foot shorter and a whole lot uglier.
lighthound wrote:
Thanks for the critique Jeff! I thought I saw something funky with #4. I first just used the church to set the WB but that look even stranger. Not crazy about the BG on that one but I thought the little guy behind the sign was kinda funny.
Sorta like him stating that it's HIS turf.
Agree with you on #7 with the oof bulls, overall the image sucks.The reason I felt this one might work is because that is a very rare sighting to capture a Whitetail buck in the same vicinity as any Bull Elk. The whitetail was what I was trying to capture and snapped as he was running behind the bulls. You can see the bull on the right watching him even though the buck wasn't wasting anytime getting past them.
I think I heard Kent clicking about the same time so I hope he got the shot that I missed here.
In all honesty, I screwed up many shots because my head just wasn't in the game. I was more into the jabbering social part.
lighthound wrote:
In all honesty, I screwed up many shots because my head just wasn't in the game. I was more into the jabbering social part.
Amen, bro.
I'm pretty embarrassed by the rookie workmanship I put forth, I never did get my "serious" head in the game really ... but, dang we had one heck of a good time.
Truth be known, the only thing that really mattered to me was hangin' with Dave. There'll always be another day for " serious shootin' " ... I think we were both out there just "plinkin' tin cans" with a bunch of pot shots, havin' fun and enjoying the camaraderie of Cataloochie Valley.
Got some culling and processing to do, but here's my quick contribution for the evening.
Never Can Get Elusive Wildlife To Look Your Way When You Want Them To ... LOL
Dave's Witness Protection Program Portrait (and looking the wrong way) ;-)
ben egbert wrote:
Man you guys were in elk city. I am liking these last few.
There were only two mature Bulls as seen in #9 image but the total herd count was amazing compared to what I have been seeing all Fall. I stopped going up there about 3 weeks ago because there was just a handful of cows, a few small small bulls and only that one "full rack" Bull.
Kent must have brought some Elk scent with him or something because they were all over the place that day. At one point while we were set-up shooting those two bulls, we heard something behind us and here came several mature cows and young calves. They walked within just a few yards of us with hardly any concern about us being there.
Kent had a good theory as to why they were acting more at ease with us then they normally do.
It was probably because there were only two humans rather than a big crowd of people that are usually up there in the earlier season.
He figured that they knew they could take two of us little humans out without any problem.
That, plus the "Estrus of Elk" scent he must have poured all over himself might have helped.
But I guess it is this: It is so awesome you guys got a chance to meet. Wish it was easier for all of us. And I don't know where you guys were, but what a great opportunity to see so many elk. I have never seen one!
It's also great to see (a bit of) our true identities revealed. I feel like we are pretty interconnected thru FM, Critique, Photography, but most of us don't even know what each other look like. Nice to see the faces that go with the names. And maybe it would be nice to do a thread where others can see us, whether or not its a great image or not.
#8 Dave, yeah, that one is great. 6,11,12 are not far behind.
Nice timing on the Playtime image, Kent. I'd be happy with the first (non-Dave) one as well.
But I guess it is this: It is so awesome you guys got a chance to meet. Wish it was easier for all of us. And I don't know where you guys were, but what a great opportunity to see so many elk. I have never seen one!
It's also great to see (a bit of) our true identities revealed. I feel like we are pretty interconnected thru FM, Critique, Photography, but most of us don't even know what each other look like. Nice to see the faces that go with the names. And maybe it would be nice to do a thread where others can see us, whether or not its a great image or not.
#8 Dave, yeah, that one is great. 6,11,12 are not far behind.
Nice timing on the Playtime image, Kent. I'd be happy with the first (non-Dave) one as well.
Ditto for me on everything Scott said. A rare and wonderful opportunity for the two of you to meet and go out shooting together. Great pics all around.
sbeme wrote:
It's also great to see (a bit of) our true identities revealed. I feel like we are pretty interconnected thru FM, Critique, Photography, but most of us don't even know what each other look like. Nice to see the faces that go with the names. And maybe it would be nice to do a thread where others can see us, whether or not its a great image or not.
But we had a great time just getting out there and experiencing our passion for photography together.
