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The elk are back

Wednesday, August 28th, 2013

Three nights ago, I went for a ride about 6:30 and went out to Euchre Creek Road, about ten miles north of Gold Beach. I saw elk for the first time this summer. After the cows calve, the herds seem to go into hiding, so I haven’t seen them in a few months. But now the calves are viable, so the herds have returned to the fields.

Anyway, the photos aren’t as sharp as I’d like. I don’t know why, but I’ll figure it out.

But, as you can see, the bulls pretty much have full antlers, now. I don’t know how far we are away from the rut, but I’d like to see if I can find and photograph some of the bulls fighting over the right to build their harems.

In the past, I’ve seen some bulls that came pretty close to fighting, but the battles ended in bluffs with the dominant male simply chasing off the others.

These are two photos of the same bull. One of my friends said she’d seen two other bulls in the same field. They weren’t there, that night. I’ll check, tonight, to see what’s out there.

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Elk in Oregon, Part 3

Sunday, December 30th, 2012

I’ve written, in earlier posts, that there are places, just a mile or two outside of Gold Beach where wildlife abounds and the tourists miss it all because they’re zipping through town on Highway 101.

Out on Rogue River Road, which the locals often refer to as North Bank Road, I recently discovered not just more wildlife photo opportunities but a candy and gift store the tourists are likely to miss.

This is Sweetbriar. It’s a candy store, in the middle of nowhere, run my Kathy and Tom. I don’t know their last names. That’s my Honda at your right.

Shutter speed 1/250 f-stop 7.1 ISO 100 focal length 50mm. I used my F 50mm f/1.4 USM lens for this photo.

This is the interior of Sweetbriar. It has cases with the candy and there are also gifts. The fudge is made by the owners.

Shutter speed 1/60 f-stop 4 ISO 250 focal length 24mm. For this photo I used my EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM lens.

These are some of the goodies I bought while I was there. The box on the left was mine, though I shared it with some friends. The other two boxes were for another friend.

Shutter speed 1/30 f-stop 4 ISO 320 focal length 50mm. I also used my F 50mm f/1.4 USM lens for this photo.

For the remaining photos I used my EF 400mm F/5.6L USM lens.

I’ve photographed this bull elk on previous occasions. These shots were taken within a half mile of Sweetbriar and less than two miles out of town. As I said, most of the traffic going through Gold Beach misses this stuff.

Shutter speed 1/1000 f-stop 5.5 ISO 640 focal length 4000mm

This is one of the cows that is in the herd. She seemed particulalry curious about what I was doing with the camera.

This is one of the cows that is in the herd. She seemed particularly curious about what I was doing with the camera. Frankly, I think she’s very pretty.

Shutter speed 1/1000 f-stop 5.5 ISO 61000 focal length 4000mm

Here, the bull had stood up. Though he acted almost sublimely unaware of my presence, he still, from time to time, eyed me as if to make sure I wasn’t a threat.

Shutter speed 1/1000 f-stop 5.5 ISO 500 focal length 4000mm

This is just another shot of the big guy. He just looks good against the hills. But like I say, this is all happening withing a few miles of town and if you’re ever here, it’s worth a stay over to see what the wildlife have to offer. Bring your camera.

Shutter speed 1/1000 f-stop 5.5 ISO 500 focal length 4000mm

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Elk in Oregon, Part 2

Wednesday, November 21st, 2012

Yesterday, I posted seven photos of elk to this blog in the morning. Later in the day I got a call from one of the magazine’s employees, Toby Stanley, Jr. He told me that the same herd was back on the north bank of the Rogue River and was right up to the road. I didn’t realize how close to the road he meant until I got there.

When I arrived I was startled to see they were indeed right up to the road, looking as though they were getting ready to cross. All that stood between them and the other side was a fence that they can easily jump over and the occasional traffic on the road.

There was already a pickup with a camper shell parked on the shoulder. The driver was watching the herd when I got there. I pulled in behind the pickup and immediately switched out lenses and put my Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM lens on my Canon 5D Mark III. The lens is a prime that has pretty good image quality and a lot of reach. When I was preparing to buy another lens, I agonized over whether to get it or the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM zoom lens. I’m not made of money, so I had to make my purchase wisely. It isn’t the most expensive or cheapest I’m looking to buy when I part with my cash, I try to get the most bang for the buck. So I read many reviews. There was one review in which the author, who lives in Toronto, placed photos of a distant building he’d shot, using the 400mm prime lens and the zoom lens, with the zoom set to 400mm. The image quality taken with the prime was noticeably better than the zoom’s, and that should have clinched it.

But I kept thinking about the versatility of the 100-400mm zoom. I can’t remember if it was in a forum or in the comment section to a review where a poster made the comment that he chose the 400mm prime because if you have the zoom you’re almost always going to be shooting it at 400mm. I thought, “Of course!” With that, I went for the prime. (Having said that, there have been moments I’ve thought I’d like to back out a little with the prime, but overall the 400mm prime has been just what I wanted.)

One of the first things I noticed was that there are now two full-grown bulls in the herd. The second one hadn’t been there all fall. So, I figure the rut must be over. Anyway, there I was, sitting in my car and, hoping not to spook the herd, I slowly got out with my camera in hand and started taking photos. The herd was nervous. I was excited. I was getting the best elk photos I’ve ever taken. Had I been a little less cautious, I might have been able to get closer to get a better angle on the two big bulls that were standing in water that about came up to their chests. I’m all for dramatic photos, but I was afraid that if I got too close I’d spook the whole herd. When someone else pulled over and took the spot I wanted without spooking them, I realized I’d missed my opportunity.

But I kept taking photos.

Some moron, in a big white dump truck leaned on his horn as he went by and did spook the herd. They started to run, but stopped after he’d passed. I’m not a person who expresses road rage or anything like that. In fact, I’m usually pretty calm in almost any situation. But for this guy I expressed myself in the most vulgar way I could think of on such short notice. If you, the truck driver, are reading this, I hope you saw it my gesture. I meant it sincerely.

Still I got some good photos; 175 in all. Choosing among them has been difficult, but here’s what I’m posting:

This bull was one of the first photos I took when I got there.

Shutter speed 1/1000 f-stop 5.6 ISO 800 focal length 400mm

This is just a small part of the herd. But you can see the fence that runs alongside the road, blurred in the foreground. They can easily leap over it without even having to get up a head of steam. They just can jump over very high fences from a standstill.

Shutter speed 1/1000 f-stop 5.6 ISO 500 focal length 400mm

You’re going to have to look at several photos of the bulls because, as I said in the previous post, only the babies can compete with them as far as interesting photos go.

Shutter speed 1/1000 f-stop 5.6 ISO 1000 focal length 400mm