More Moose: Close Encounters

[NorthernFocus]

OK in my prior post I painted a scene being "one with the moose". But sometimes it's not all wine and roses. Regardless of how careful one is they are still wild animals. And thinking that we truly understand what goes on in their heads is a mistake. Confusing reading behavior versus reading their minds can get one into trouble quickly. So here is a bit of that side of the story.

One tactic for photographing the moose rut is to find a big bull that has established a "wallow" and basically sit on the location until something interesting happens. That often means sitting/standing by for quite some time while the bull himself may be laying down doing nothing, maybe even sound asleep. What one hopes for is that his wallow is successful and attracts cow moose who are interesting in mating with the bull. Or, even better, that other bulls come around and challenge him for the territory and/or any cows that he has successfully attracted. But if/when the hoped for scenarios unfold, things can get more "interesting" than desired.

I was in exactly such a situation a couple of weeks ago with a bull laying by his wallow. A cow approached from the "wrong" direction, pinning me between herself and the bull with limited options for egress. Plus she was inquisitive.

All shots with D4, 80-400mm AF-S. As always view in light box for full uploaded resolution.

1. The cow approached closer than I was comfortable with. They are typically more problematic in that regard than the bulls. The bulls may inadvertently get close but the cows often walk up to you very purposefully. Not sure if it is curiosity or what but it is very unsettling if there isn't a tree handy. FF shot at 400mm.



2. Her approach woke the bull up. I had spent the last half hour working close to him to try for a good portrait shot. When he stood up it wasn't a good spot to be. Fortunately by this time the cow had moved a bit to the side and had his attention. This at 150mm



3. Now he is looking at me. But seems just out of curiosity. Ears erect is good.



4. Uh, oh. Head down, ears back, time to bail out of here. Which I quickly did as soon as I saw this in the viewfinder. And as is typically the case, giving him his space diffused the situation.



5. Here is another curious cow from another day. This one stayed at a respectable distance. Probably because I was with two more people. 400mm full frame. Isn't she a lovely creature?



6. Whereas this one came much too close. I retreated behind a tree from where I took this shot, full frame at 250mm. Not currently on my calibrated monitor but WB looks off on this one.



7. Then every once in a while, stuff just happens. This bull walked out of the woods right into someone walking several dogs just as I was coming down the trail near the car park. Unfortunately moose have an instinctive response to dogs and after they become agitated (i.e. its defenses are triggered), they can stay in a "bad mood" for a while. After scattering the dogs it saw me and proceeded to push me back down the trail for several hundred yards in spite of my turning and running at least three times to keep distance between us. It finally relented and headed into the brush. This at 400mm and cropped a good bit.

[Kodiak]

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Cool takes Dan! …very cool! Too sharpened I think but cool.

[Shadowman]

Nice series and back story. Glad you were able to get some good shots to share with us before you were removed from the premises. So technically you are a moose paparazzi. You could start naming your individual photos with celebrity names.

[Mike Buckley]

Another great series and narrative!

[FootLoose]

Great series, Dan.

[Nicks Pics]

Thanks for sharing the shooting! It appears that there were about ideal lighting conditions. It's very enjoyable to see those animals captured with so lifelike photos. I like the curious expression on the cow in #5. The back-story to the photos was also fun.

[IzzieK]

Man! o Man! I was sitting at the edge of my chair reading your narrative and enjoying the photos...it was a feeling like watching an Alfred Hitchcock series...#5 looks good...

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for the comments, folks. Glad you enjoyed the photos.

Kodiak, somewhat more specific critique on what you're seeing would be helpful. They were processed differently with the exception of the final export so would like to zero in on any problems I'm creating in PP.

...So technically you are a moose paparazzi....

Funny that's exactly what I told my wife. Particularly when one is looking on as they couple it can be downright embarrassing

[NorthernFocus]

...#5 looks good...

Izzie, that's one of my favorite moose shots of the season. She was a particularly active lady that day.

[Tom Barry]

Riveting shots and narrative. I'm impressed.

[Texas Dave]

Great job indeed!

[deetheturk]

More great captures Dan, well done!

David

[bnnrcn]

Great shots

[wtlwdwgn]

Another terrific series and commentary of the moose!

[FlyingSquirrel]

Dan, enjoyable thread, as always. You have quite the knack for turning a story of a life-threatening situation into a somewhat chuckle inducing narrative.

[John 2]

Missed these. Another spectacular series Dan with an enjoyable read to boot. No. 6 does lean towards the blue a bit but in this sort of story narrative I'm not sure it matters. I enjoyed the post.

[KimC]

Wonderful... #1 has such a sweet expression.

[PaulRJennings]

Makes me want to get back to Algonquin this spring. Of course there it is just pull over and shoot, no need to leave the highway as the moose feed off the side of the road, enjoying the salt put on the road during the winter. Great Shots!

[kaneohebud]

Beautiful shots, Dan! You are in prime moose country.

[NorthernFocus]

Glad you folks enjoyed the post. Haven't had time to visit CIC much recently. I hate it when life gets in the way of photography...