Bull Elk in Velvet

By Jim | Published July 7, 2017

While photographing at the Neil Smith NWR (near Des Moines, Iowa) a couple of weeks ago, I discovered there were some elk on the refuge. I was aware of a bison herd, but had never heard about or seen any elk. But as I drove the backside of the refuge, I saw a small group […]

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Late Afternoon Bull Elk

By Jim | Published November 9, 2014

While driving the National Bison Range road in SW Montana, we came upon a single, bull elk that was grazing in the late afternoon light: Photographic Equipment Used: Canon 1D Mark 2 body Canon EF100mm-400mm, f/4.5-f/5.6 IS lens, shot at 400mm Handheld, with IS “On” ISO 200 Aperture f/5.6 Shutter 1/60 sec. Note: Thanks to […]

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Beautiful Bull

By Jim | Published October 2, 2014

One morning along the road into Upper Beaver Meadow (Rocky Mountain NP, Colorado), a nice bull elk exited the woods and meandered towards the road. Along the way, I captured these images as he rambled past, looking for some cows to start his harem: And earlier in the morning, another rainbow appeared overhead, this time […]

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The Harem

By Jim | Published September 30, 2014

Today’s post features the elk rut and the bull elk’s “harem”. For anyone not having experienced the annual elk rut, it is a very complex and interesting thing to view. As the rut approaches in Rocky Mountain NP (outside Estes Park, Colorado) elk of both sexes start congregating in the meadows and nearby woods. The […]

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Jockeying for Position

By Jim | Published September 27, 2014

As this post publishes, I’m on my way home from a successful, photography outing in Rocky Mountain National Park, in Colorado. The objective of this trip was to photograph the annual elk rut, as well as capture some of the magnificent fall colors of the Rocky Mountains. I’ve already posted a few images from this […]

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Fun Friday: Love is in the Air!

By Jim | Published September 26, 2014

Today’s Fun Friday post comes from Moraine Park, inside Rocky Mountain NP (Colorado). The annual elk (Cervus canadensis) rut (i.e., attraction/mating) ritual has started and I captured this behavioral image on my first morning inside the park: During the rut, male elk (“bulls”) will “bugle” (a high-pitched squeal) to attract female elk (“cows”). As the […]

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When Rainouts Are Fun!

By Jim | Published September 23, 2014

Well, the first day in Rocky Mountain National Park has concluded. And the weatherman was correct … rain, rain, rain! :o) May sound like a lousy day, but it actually was a very rewarding day, despite the recurring rain showers. Arriving at Moraine Park (a wonderful place to photograph elk inside the Park) about a […]

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Fun Friday: And in the Beginning …

By Jim | Published January 18, 2013

(This post originally posted in May 2007, and began my tradition of posting a funny or fun-related post for Fridays … a little lighthearted look at things as we enter our weekends) With today being Friday, I decided it is time to have a little fun! This post has a few of my “fun images”, […]

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Fun Friday: Built-in Back Scratcher

By Jim | Published November 25, 2011

This image surfaced when I was going through my library of Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado) images last week:       As I photographed a herd of nearby elk, this bull, who had been resting (must have had a rough night of collecting his harem!) began scratching his back with his nice antlers.   […]

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Fun Friday: I’m Turning Right

By Jim | Published November 18, 2011

Today’s Fun Friday post comes from a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado) a couple of years ago. It’s really quite amazing what you can catch with a camera if you closely watch your subject’s behaviors and are ready for that momentary “goofiness”. This young bull elk (Cervus elaphus) looks as if he has […]

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