My approach to photographing Moose during the rut is different from most. Bulls expand an inordinate amount of energy to be a bull and photographers who push them to get “the” shot just stress them further. For that and just because I want the best photograph, I wait, hours and hours, for the moment when they approach me on their own terms. Where we’re shooting, we can see for over a mile. Watching the cows, you can get an idea of what the bulls will do. In this case, this bull which we had seen first thing in the morning was pushed up slope with a cow into the trees. Hours later he came back down as we where there to get the shot. Real simple, just had to wait. Getting closer, much closer to the photo I want.
Photographically, this photo is getting closer to what I want. Not the biggest bull on the field, he’s still a big boy. He’s on a bit of rise and the background is a tad out of the focus. The light is a bit hard but for this moment, kinda works. So, as time in the field increased, results improve so a little bit closer. mtc