Elk Spar

Posted by E.J. Peiker on Fri Sep 12, 2003 9:36 pm

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Elk - Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
EOS 1D, 70-200mm @ 80mm, 1/320, f/4, ISO 200

Last October, while in Jasper NP, we were on our way back to town at the end of a long day of shooting and looking forward to a nice Japanese dinner. As we were driving back we came upon two Elk Bulls and we started photographing them. I was using the 70-200IS hand held for maximum mobility. Eventually the two started sparring and the shutters were buzzing. As I was photographing them, I suddenly ran out of zoom on the low end and looked up and these two were right in front of me - this shot was taken at just 80mm! I made an immediate retreat after scaring myself a bit. Another lesson learned in the wild!

E.J. Peiker http://www.EJPhoto.com
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by Michael Brown on Fri Sep 12, 2003 9:44 pm

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3 .......................... 95
3 .......................... 95
hut!

Couldn't resist. Hey, its football season and these two instantly brought that to mind!

Excellent detail with this one E.J., and I also like how each one has a fairly equal amount of front leg showing. Nice detail, color, and comp, although I do wish that I could see all of the antlers.
And, ...................... if you shot this at 80mm, .................... you're crazy!!!

I love it!!!

Mike

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by NDCheryl on Fri Sep 12, 2003 9:51 pm

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80mm-that is more than a little too close. The colors and detail are great but the up close interaction puts this way over the top for me.

Cheryl Ertelt
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by stevebein on Fri Sep 12, 2003 10:38 pm

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EJ,
Neat. Isn't it strange how we put ourselves in different places when looking through the viewfinder. NOt surprising that they were so close before you realized it, but they were not concentrating on you.

Steve Bein
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by Lillian Roberts on Fri Sep 12, 2003 10:54 pm

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Oh, yeah... definitely one of the nicest bull elk images I have ever seen. My only tiny wish would be to have the entire antlers on both bulls, but I don't miss them much. The symmetry here is astonishing.

So... who won?

Lillian

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by E.J. Peiker on Fri Sep 12, 2003 11:25 pm

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They never got viscous and both just walked away after a while so i call it a draw.

E.J. Peiker http://www.EJPhoto.com
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by Corey Deards on Fri Sep 12, 2003 11:38 pm

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E.J., This is wonderful. I'm jealous of you witnessing it, let alone getting such a great image! Now I just want to see the one of a couple moose this close

Corey Deards
[b]The shortest distance between two points is........grossly over rated![/b]
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by Dennis Olivero on Fri Sep 12, 2003 11:47 pm

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EJ-you know I am a sucker for tight in shots, I just love that close up facial detail. Thanks for posting in FFM... great image..

[b]Dennis Olivero[/b]
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by Rich S on Sat Sep 13, 2003 6:34 am

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E.J. Peiker wrote:They never got viscous and both just walked away after a while so i call it a draw.

I'm sitting here thinking 80mm - you really were concentrating or you were nuts -

- but then the vision of these guys getting viscuous and I'm ROFL!

Love the shot, for reasons mentioned already. Also love the low angle here - so you're a few feet away on your knees?

Rich

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by Jim Zipp on Sat Sep 13, 2003 6:46 am

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Nice shto E.J.!

Jim Zipp
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by Bob Ettinger on Sat Sep 13, 2003 9:19 am

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E.J.,

Nice one and 80mm really makes it, scared or not

Bob Ettinger

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by Steve Mason on Sat Sep 13, 2003 9:53 am

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This is one of my favorites of yours, the eyes really make this!

I remember this well. When we first stopped, they were just sizing each other up. I was tired, and pretty much done shooting. I was just sitting in the vehicle relaxing. When I heard the clack of antlers banging together, I forgot about being tired and was up and shooting in a few seconds.

Steve Mason

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by walkinman on Sat Sep 13, 2003 10:35 am

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Hey E.J.

Way too close .. lucky the ranger didn't come along! Someone woulda got introuble.

Speaking of which, I am surprised at how non-existent the rangers seem to be in Canada's better known Rocky Mtn parks.

This is nice man, really well framed. Exposure is good, and the shadow detail of the digitl capture shows .. on film there'd be alot of black in this frame.

These guys were sparring quite a bit up there, but I didn't manage any shots worth a darn. This one I like a lot. I don't even mind about the broken tine of the bull on the right. Well done. you going back this year?

Cheers

Carl

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by Laura Stiefel on Sat Sep 13, 2003 10:48 am

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Colors, exposure, detail are all wonderful as per your usual excellent standards but what really strikes me is the symmetry in this image. The way you managed to include one leg of each in nearly the same position, the balanced composition, and the intense stare in both eyes really conveys the sparing interaction.... I love this E.J..

Laura Stiefel
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by Steve Sage on Sat Sep 13, 2003 11:42 am

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Excellent! You were probably closer than I would have wanted to be. Maybe Franz would have crawled in there with a 16mm but somehow I doubt it. Great shot.

Steve Sage
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by joseph motto on Sat Sep 13, 2003 7:04 pm

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You want action, you got action! Most enjoyable.

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by Harvey Edelman on Sun Sep 14, 2003 12:29 pm

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Excellent detail and the exposure here is superb.

Harvey Edelman
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by Karen S on Sun Sep 14, 2003 4:52 pm

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Ahhh This is the BEST Elk shot I've seen. Perfect exposure and both eyes showing. Nice job!

[b]Karen B. Schindeldecker[/b]
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by Chas on Mon Sep 15, 2003 9:50 am

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E.J., this was certainly one of the most memorable events we witnessed on the trip. It is amazing how a few minutes of action can make one forget about the cold and fatigue. If I remember correctly you blew through CF cards faster than bullets through a machine gun-lol It was quite a spectacle, and this is quite an image. Glad you made it

!

Best,

Chas

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