Bull Elk in Velvet

By James Braswell | 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 James Braswell | 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 James Braswell | 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 James Braswell | 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 James Braswell | 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 James Braswell | 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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