Late spring in Pennsylvania's elk range and outdoor photographers are
concentrating on photographing the elk calves. There has been a lot of
rainfall this spring and one has to keep close to the vehicle or be
prepared to weather a severe thunderstorm.
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| Distant Thunderhead |
Elk usually go in early in the morning to avoid the hot rays of the sun
and come out very late in the evening, but an afternoon thunder storm may bring
them to the fields earlier.
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| Herd Feeding In The Rain |
An added bonus of this type of weather is the
potential for dramatic landscape shots as the skies clear and fog lifts
after the storm.
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| Fog Forms After Shower |
While I was taking the photograph above, the sun was
behind a bank of heavy clouds, but there was a clear spot that it had to
cross before setting. I anticipated dramatic interaction of the rays
of the sun with the fog when it came from behind the clouds and I was
not disappointed.
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| Late Evening Sun Adds Dramatic Cast To Rising Fog |
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| Winslow Hill Sunset |
I have seen several calves, but they have been too
far away for the best quality still photographs or it has been too
foggy. The photo below was taken at extreme range with the 600mm f4 and
1.4x extender and cropped severely on top of that.
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| Distant Calves |
Each year the PGC captures several calves and fits
them with radio collars and/or ear tags for research purposes and a
large number of the animals seen on Winslow Hill are wearing the tags.
It is normal for elk to be more skittish at this time of year to help
protect the young from predators, but it does seem likely that
capturing the calves contributes to this shyness as does the influx of
nature enthusiasts.
Originally published by Willard Hill at
Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer.
