Today I would like to share two images with you that were published
in 2014. Both were somewhat unusual images. The first is of "Limpy" the
great Pennsylvania bull elk that thrilled numerous wildlife watchers
and photographers for years before being killed in this year's elk
season. He was most likely the most photographed bull in the state in
recent years and his images graced several publications. This year I
submitted a photograph of him to Pennsylvania Magazine for consideration
in their 2014 Photo Contest.
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| Limpy-2013: Canon 70D-Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II @ 200mm-ISO 400-1/800 sec. f 5.0 |
The photo was taken in The Saddle at 6:47 on
Wednesday September 25, 2013 as the sun was about to set. Many will
recall this evening as a lot of elk enthusiasts were there to witness
the dramatic events and stunning scenery. At the time I recalled how
the crew from Wild Horizons, who filmed in The Saddle a few years ago,
preferred to film in dramatic light and I worked to exploit the
situation to the best of my ability as this was definitely dramatic
light. I have never been sure that I made the best choices in the
situation. Perhaps I should have exposed for more detail on the elk,
but the way it is shown above is the outcome I had in mind when I
pressed the shutter.
Whatever the case, it captured
second place in the Wildlife Diorama category, while Ronald Kauffman of
York won first place with a dramatic photo of an eagle flying from a
nest and Donald Biresch of Ottsville captured third place with a
dramatic photo of wolves photographed at The Wolf Sanctuary of
Pennsylvania in Lancaster County. Winning photos and those earning an
honorable mention in the Wildlife Diorama category were published in
the September/October issue of Pennsylvania Magazine.
I was also pleased when Bugle Magazine chose the Overlook Bull photograph that was feature in the September 29, 2014 post,
"Elk Activity Is Now Spotty"
to accompany a short article about the co-operative effort between The
Pennsylvania Game Commission and The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to
acquire the Woodring Property.
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| Overlook Bull: Canon 70D- Canon 17-40@ 39mm ISO 100-1/60 sec. f 5.0 |
This is an unusual image and I have mixed feelings
about it, but as one photographer pointed out it is a different type
image than what one usually sees from Pennsylvania Elk County. When I
saw the situation I had no chance to change anything, I had to go with
the camera and lens that was on my chest ready to go. I have seen a lot
of elk around this overlook, but never on it with the mountains visible
behind. The light was very contrasty and it would have been impossible
to get acceptable quality with film or with a straight-out -of- camera
jpeg image with a digital camera. As it was, the original RAW file is
washed out over the mountains and the side of the elk and tree trunks
are deeply shadowed. Even though the mountains and sky were too bright
the detail was not washed out and it was easy to bring it to the correct
exposure in Adobe CC Camera Raw. The shadows slider was used to bring
out detail in the dark areas, and other tweaks were used as well such as
dodging and burning, etc. The end result has somewhat of an HDR look to
it. At any rate it is a photo that will always stand out in my mind
because of the unusual circumstances under which it was taken and
because it was published by Bugle Magazine.
I wish to
thank the faithful readers of this blog that have supported me on the
issues through the years and to the many who have purchased "The Truth
About Pennsylvania's Elk Herd" and "Running Wild In Pennsylvania Elk
Country". Also a special thanks to those who helped me in the making of
the films. Your assistance is deeply appreciated. A Happy and
Prosperous New Year to all.
Originally published at
Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.
