Book by Marci Geise Features Photos from PA Elk Country

Mid-afternoon September 22, found me traveling to The Wildlife Center at  Sinnemahoning State Park where author/photographer Marci Geise was holding a book signing for "Elk Scenic Drive"  The book features photos of points of interest and wildlife that may be seen while traveling the elk scenic drive, a 127 mile route through the heart of elk country.  I arrived to find Marci and her father, Phil chatting with attendees.

Marci Geise Poses With Her Book  The Wildlife Center: Photo by W.Hill

Marci Geise maintains an active presence on the internet and her work may be viewed at Marci Geise Photography or on Facebook.  In addition, she was recently featured in the Monday September 17th edition of The St. Marys Daily Press.

Marci graciously contributed video footage and still photographs to "Running Wild In Pennsylvania Elk Country", a film which I released in late September.  Of special note are two video clips of bears playing and several photographs of bull 36, better know as "Fred" or "Freddy".  One of the featured photos is shown below.

Fred In 2009: Photo by Marci Geise-all rights reserved

Geise will hold another book signing on October 12 at the Cameron County Artisan Center.  Her book may be purchased at Benezett Store & Restaurant, Cameron County Artisan Center, Elk County Council On The Arts, Wharton General Store, The Wildlife Center at Sinnemahoning State Park, and the Cameron County Artisan Center. In addition the book may  be ordered directly from the author.  Please visit her website for  ordering instructions.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer.

Will The Biggest and Best Be Lost?

Mature 7x7 Bugling: Panasonic GH2 Canon 500mm F4

I was in Pennsylvania elk country from September 16th until late Friday morning on the 28th.  Overall it was one of the best trips ever, yet I was experiencing  grave misgivings about the bull situation by the time the trip was over. I saw more bulls than ever, and more antlers together, both  in sparring matches and brief fights, which is unlike recent years in which I seldom saw this.

Mature Bull: Canon 5D MK III Canon 500mm F4

Mature 7x7: Panasonic GH2 Canon 300mm F2.8

At first glance it would seem that the photographs I posted indicate there are a large number of mature bulls on Winslow Hill and there certainly are quite a few, but none that I photographed are likely to approach or exceed the magic 400 Boone and Crockett score that so many view as the holy grail of elk hunting.  The one that comes closest is an acclimated animal that has no fear of humans whatsoever.  With him apparently being the largest bull on the hill, there seems little likelihood that he will survive elk season.  Last year we lost two of the best on Winslow Hill and none have replaced the largest to the best of my knowledge.  I would expect the loss of at least one, most likely two, and perhaps all of the bulls shown today in the coming season.

It seems we are striving to become like Kentucky, which has a large elk herd, but which judging from most of the photographs I see, are distinctly second or third tier bulls compared to the best that Pennsylvania can offer.

Last year the largest Pennsylvania bulls came from the outlying areas, with the exception of the 7x8 which was killed near Weedville. It will be interesting to see if this is the case this year.

There seems little doubt that the PGC will address the large number of elk around the viewing areas on Winslow Hill. It is certainly true that the herd cannot be left to grow unchecked, but there is little excuse to kill the biggest and best bulls each year in an area that is home to the Elk Country Visitor Center and the hotbed of elk related tourism.  That being said it is a difficult situation to address as many of the bulls travel a long distance from Winslow Hill after the rut, with many going to Spring Run, the Weedvillle-Gardner Hill area, or further after the rut is over.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

New Film To Be Available Late Sunday

The new 2 hour wildlife documentary, "Running Wild in Pennsylvania Elk Country" should be available at Benezett Store by late Sunday afternoon.

The film gives a close look at many wildlife species one may see in Pennsylvania Elk Country, with elk receiving the most attention. Whitetail deer and the eastern wild turkey are also given an in-depth look.One of the most noteworthy features is a bull fight from 2011 filmed by John T. Koshinski.  This was between the bull known as "Earhook" and a superb 7x8.  A brief sample is posted below.


They should be playing the film on the televisions in both the restaurant and store.  If they are not and you would like to see it,  please ask them to do so.

Also be sure and check out my first film, The Truth About Pennsylvania's Elk Herd, if you have not already done so.

Thanks to all for their support, and I hope to see you in elk country.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Running Wild In Pennsylvania Elk Country

Magnificent Pennsylvania Bull: From the opening scenes of "Running Wild in Pennsylvania Elk Country"

 It has been a difficult past few weeks, trying to bring the post-production process to a close on a new film about Pennsylvania Elk.  In the four years that has passed  since I released  "The Truth About Pennsylvania's Elk Herd", I have spent countless hours afield in pursuit of elk.  It has truly been a pleasure to document these magnificent animals through the seasons of the year.

I had originally intended to title the film "Pennsylvania Elk Country", but after input from others it was decided to go with, "Running Wild In Pennsylvania Elk Country".  I decided to include a lot of other wildlife in the film that one can expect to see "running wild" in elk country.  I will say up front that most of this other wildlife was not filmed in the Pennsylvania northwoods, as I spend a relatively limited amount of time there and of course concentrate on the elk when I am there.  With that being said it is wildlife that one can reasonably expect to see in the elk range.  The film is 2 Hrs. long, which many will say is too lengthy, but it should be looked at as a modular film.  One can easily break viewing up over multiple evenings.  There are not nearly as many chapter breaks as in "The Truth About", but it is broken up between the four seasons of the year, with some further division in cases, which makes for easy viewing in segments.

Sadly I have not successfully filmed any sustained bull fights since the fight between Bull 36 and The Test Hill Bull in 2001, but I did film a lot of brief encounters.   One of the most exciting was on October 1, 2010, which is included in the section on fighting in "Running Wild"



I arrived at a meadow before dawn to a spine chilling serenade as several bulls were after a large herd of cows. Several mature bulls were in the area as well as a large number of young satellite bulls that were hanging around the edges of the harem.  I positioned the XL-H1, which has an excellent shotgun microphone and recorded several minutes of the bugling in the pre-dawn darkness.  It was frustrating, as in time one could see the dim shapes of the animals.  A lot of exciting action was going on, but it could not be recorded.

This was my first year with the Canon 7D and before I had a 300mm f2.8 lens, so at that point my best choices were the 70-200mm f2.8 or the 300mm F4, but the 70-200mm did not give satisfactory image size at that distance, so I used the 300mm F4.  The video was shot at 1/30 sec. F4.  IS) 2,000.  The amazing thing is I could not have recorded this a year earlier as the XL-H1 simply would not work acceptably in that light level.  The most exciting part of the action was over by the time it was bright enough for it.  To me the amazing thing is that this clip would have been a piece of cake for the Canon 5D MKIII as one can get extremely good video quality at esoteric ISO settings such as 6,400 and 12,800.

I hope you enjoy the clip and look for more information soon.  Hopefully the film will be available at Benezette Store by the end of the weekend.  I will try to post later today or tomorrow with an update on the situation.

Originally posted by Willard C. Hill at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer.