2011_1708 Moose Passing By
I was shooting ice beneath a little bridge. I had the tripod, a 105mm macro + 1.7x teleconverter, low ISO, and the camera set on mirror lockup (we photographers who still use primitive cameras sometimes lock our mirrors up prior to exposure in an effort to minimize mirror slap vibration).
In short, I was in full macro mode and immersed in a world of icy reflections and rushing water, when I happened to glance up... and saw this cow Moose with her calf picking their way slowly along the opposite bank. It was a lovely scene. There was no time to run back to my car and grab another lens, so I made a few quick adjustments and managed a few critters-in-landscape shots.
These are probably the same two Moose featured yesterday, as they are in the same area, which may be their hangout. But with four months in between shots, who knows... it's a big park... and it seems to be supporting a healthy and fairly recent Moose population.
I almost feel sorry for the Mule Deer. Twenty years ago they were the undisputed ungulate kings of Grasslands. Males go up to 450 lb. White-tailed Deer were in second place, bucks weighing up to 300 lb. But the reintroduction of Bison (as much as 2,000 lb) and Moose (bulls can be 1,400 lb and even cows get up to 1,100 lb) now relegate deer to third and fourth place, respectively. Nature isn't static; the balance is always shifting in both large and small ways.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2020 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
2011_1708 Moose Passing By
I was shooting ice beneath a little bridge. I had the tripod, a 105mm macro + 1.7x teleconverter, low ISO, and the camera set on mirror lockup (we photographers who still use primitive cameras sometimes lock our mirrors up prior to exposure in an effort to minimize mirror slap vibration).
In short, I was in full macro mode and immersed in a world of icy reflections and rushing water, when I happened to glance up... and saw this cow Moose with her calf picking their way slowly along the opposite bank. It was a lovely scene. There was no time to run back to my car and grab another lens, so I made a few quick adjustments and managed a few critters-in-landscape shots.
These are probably the same two Moose featured yesterday, as they are in the same area, which may be their hangout. But with four months in between shots, who knows... it's a big park... and it seems to be supporting a healthy and fairly recent Moose population.
I almost feel sorry for the Mule Deer. Twenty years ago they were the undisputed ungulate kings of Grasslands. Males go up to 450 lb. White-tailed Deer were in second place, bucks weighing up to 300 lb. But the reintroduction of Bison (as much as 2,000 lb) and Moose (bulls can be 1,400 lb and even cows get up to 1,100 lb) now relegate deer to third and fourth place, respectively. Nature isn't static; the balance is always shifting in both large and small ways.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2020 James R. Page - all rights reserved.