Our fall is drab...so.....

[jeeperman]

I figured a little interest mixed in would get me motivated. Here in Washington we have an interesting park called NW Trek. It is not a zoo and the animals roam free within a very large plot of land. Many of the animals are there because they have been injured or found captive elswhere. All are native animals.
The predators are seperated into their own areas and they keep very few. While I dislike animals in cages I applaud this place for not only doing good works but giving the animals room and encouraging natural behavior. The bears have to dig for their food that is hidden all over their area and are encouraged to climb trees.

Myself and two friends went on a special tour today, here are but a few of my favorites.

[Bobobird]

Beautiful shots, hard to pick a favourite.

[Plumcrak]

Yes, beautiful shots indeed. I really like the way the mountain goat stands out against the contrasting background.

[Jack R Mann]

nice stuff as always Paul.

[jeeperman]

Thank you Bobo, Jon and Jack. We had a good time.

[Clive Kirby]

Some beautiful shots there. I especially like the deer rutting. I'm going to Calke Abbey this morning, hopefully to catch the same thing, if I've not left it too late in the season.

[Shadowman]

Interesting shots. How do they keep them separated, there can't be too many obstacles that a goat can't bypass?

[jeeperman]

I hope you had some good luck Clive, as you are likely back by now and Thank you.

John, thanks. The goats, deer, Elk, Bison and Moose are all allowed free range together and the property is fenced. I would guess some deer come and go but the rest stay put. There is a parimeter fence but the place is vast.

I have more should anyone like to see. I can just add them here.

[FrankMi]

I have more should anyone like to see. I can just add them here.

Yes, please post more!

This looks like a superb place to photograph wildlife Paul. What kinds of restrictions do they have for where and when you can roam and setup to take shots?

[Teton Chuck]

Paul, these are very nice shots. You did a great job of framing the first shot and the light is beautiful. For me the key to the mountain goat photo is the clarity of the eye. The rest just follows. And the third shot of the elk sparing is the kind of thing that is very difficult, but highly desirable, to get in the wild. Animals in action are almost always more interesting than when they are simply posing. I am interested in the f stop and shutter speed you used on the elk shot. Seems as if you got good depth of field.

Do post more. These are fun. Chuck

[GrahamS]

Wow!

[jeeperman]

Thanks Frank. THe best way to see the animals is on the Photographers tour. They do one a month and take up to 15 people only. The sell out quickly so make reservations a while before you plan to visit. Link.... http://www.nwtrek.org/

Here are a few more.

[jeeperman]

Thanks Chuck and Graham. The First Elk was shot at 150mm ISO 640 F7.1 @ 1/100sec.

[terrib]

Paul, I love these. Both mountain goats and the young buck are really nice portraits. But I am partial to the wolf. I love his pose and the look he's giving you. Looks like he might be about to run. Thanks for sharing those. If I ever get up your way, I would love to go there.

[rpcrowe]

Amazing captures... Thanks for sharing these shots...

[jeeperman]

Thank you Terri and Richard, here are the last of the ones I have been through. I still have a linx and Eagles maybe and a couple more to go through.

[Mike Buckley]

Gorgeous compositions and colors. They make me wish we had a park like this in our area.

Most of the images appear underexposed to me. Unless this is your style by design, review the histograms and consider increasing the exposure.

[jeeperman]

Thanks Mike, Yes I do tend to adjust in that direction although I see a couple I may have taken it a bit to far. A slight adding of Vignette furthers that some and can get a darker than I realize.

It was also very low light, early morning and cloud cover so a little dark it was.

[PhotoByTrace]

Looks as if it would have been an excellent experience! I really like the first stag shot and like the elevation you were able to give the wolf, but they are all really lovely captures

[jeeperman]

Thank you Trace, it was indeed.