I have been photographing and filming in Pennsylvania Elk
Country this week, but have spent little time on Winslow Hill because of the
changes to the Dewey Road and Saddle Area. I did photograph this large
non-typical bull, which many call The U Bull shortly after dawn on
Monday morning on Winslow Hill.
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| The U Bull |
I
spent most of the week traveling about and sometimes opportunities were
few and far between. Many mornings are foggy this time of year, which
makes photography difficult if it is too thick. One morning there was
little fog, but the light was dim and drab. I was watching cows and
calves feeding when a fine 8x8 bull arrived and bugled. The light was
still dim enough that I had to use an ISO setting of 2000 with the 5D MK
III and 100-400mm IS II lens to get sufficient shutter speed to stop
motion..
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| 8x8 Bugles |
In a few moments a larger bull appeared and
challenged him and soon they were locked in combat. I boosted the ISO to
4000 so I could get an even higher shutter-speed of 1/400 sec. to try
to stop the action better.
The fight lasted for awhile and the bulls broke contact several times before returning to the struggle.
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| Bulls Pause From Fighting |
After awhile I reached for the Panasonic FZ1000
camera and filmed them in 4K video, but they broke contact soon after I
began. I will try and get this on Vimeo at some point, but it may be
awhile.
It seemed that activity was much better in the
mornings, although the elk were usually went in the woods soon after
sunrise and it seemed that most evenings were very dead as they often
did not come into the meadows again until it was too dark for the best
photography.
Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.
