Big bull elk bugling

There I was, high in the Rocky Mountains, deep in the forest, surrounded by dozens of wild elk. I could hear the clash of antlers as young bulls battled.  I’d been hiking for hours in the rain searching for this herd, and finally found them by a lake. I had only a few moments of sunlight between storms to set up the shot. I must have come too close, because the biggest bull looked directly at me and bellowed…

Yeah,  no.  I bet that’s the kind of back story you expected for an image like this. Some elements of that story ring true. The real story is more mundane, but getting the shot was still tricky and there are lessons to be learned - and the end result is a beautiful picture. 

Yes, we were high in the Rockies, at about 7,500 feet of elevation. Yes, there were dozens of elk all around us. Yes, they were wild and free elk and possibly dangerous. Yes, we found them at a lake. Yes, other young elk were sparring with their antlers (picture below). Yes, this was the biggest bull and he commanded a large family. He was "bugling", calling his family to join him in walking back across the lake.

But no, we hand't trudged deep into the wilderness. We were by the shore of Lake Estes, a recreational area near Estes Park in Colorado. Every fall, herds of elk migrate from the high country to lower meadows, and the town of Estes Park happens to be on their route. They don’t let a town get in the way of their traditional routes, they just barge on in and make themselves at home. We were planning to drive through the mountains in the area, and my wife asked our hotel front desk clerk if they could recommend anything in particular. They told us we were at the peak of the elk “rut” season and where we might find them.

Lesson 1: As any research scientist or professional photographer will tell you, always ask the locals. They know what’s what and where it’s at. 

So although we did drive several hours that day, we didn’t have to hike through the woods. The elk were at the lake, on the golf course, stopping traffic to cross the road… you couldn’t miss them.

Lesson 2: Be safe around wild animals.

Although these elk pass through every year, and are somewhat tolerant of humans, they are wild and unpredictable. The bulls are protective of their families and they have weapons at their disposal. Four days earlier, on a golf course 50 miles away, someone in a golf cart was seriously injured by an elk. Most of the time I kept a tree trunk between me and the elk. When they wanted to move I moved out of their way. 

Lesson 3: Learn to make urban wildlife encounters look like wild settings.

I take a lot of bird photos, and at least half of them are in an ugly, concrete-and-sand riverbed. No one really wants to see a bird on a concrete pillar, on a chain link fence, or with a background of power wires and traffic signals. So when I can’t make the trek to a wilderness area, I put in the work to make the animal's urban environment look natural. I use what trees and bushes exist as the background, even if that means moving around a lot or waiting for the bird/animal to move. I change the angle to use the sky or the water as the background. I wait until the animal looks in the best direction. I blur the background if necessary. 

Often I crop the image to include the natural-looking foliage that looks the best.

With the elk herd, which was in a public recreation area, I was able to move around to get trees as the background most of the time. In this shot of the sparring youngsters unfortunately I couldn't avoid a roof and a sign. It’s a decent image - I've had photographers tell me they've tried for years to get a shot like it - but unless I replaced the unnatural background with Photoshop I couldn’t really use it the way I would like. 

These shots of browsing and resting elk are better, because I was able to shoot downward and use the ground as the background. You can’t tell whether I am in an urban area or deep in the woods.

For my best shot of the bull elk bugling, I was up in the picnic area and he was on the other side of the road, down near the water. By zooming in close I was able to exclude all else and use the water as the background. The trickiest parts were timing the shot between cars passing on the road, and ensuring I used all my best techniques to make sure the image was sharp.

So… I hope telling the real story doesn’t spoil this image for you, but rather helps you appreciate the effort and luck and care that goes into urban wildlife images. I think it’s a beautiful shot of a magnificent animal. If you get a print of this, you can tell people it was high in the Rockies… deep in the woods… it’ll be our secret. 

The close-up shot is available from our Pixels gallery by clicking here.