Archive for the ‘Elk’ Category

Free Photos – bull elk photo

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
Bull Elk bugling, Jasper National Park, Canada.

Bull Elk bugling, Jasper National Park, Canada.

Hey Folks,

I had another photo request for free use of my images today; they come in pretty regularly, it seems, particularly for wildlife and landscape photography. We nature lovers obviously love what we do, and so must have a desire to give our work away for free. How can we not?

I’ll be the first to admit it folks; these are tough times, for buyers and sellers alike. There’s no denying that truth. I thought I’d try to find some kind of compromise here. I always like to develop a relationship with someone who may potentially pay for my work, and I also wanted to help these people out – theirs is a just and worthwhile cause. And hey, maybe helping these folks out might provide the impetus for some real economic activity in the world? I hoped to do my bit to help the economy get rolling, my own little stimulus plan, if you will (I still can’t believe the government got away with labeling theirs a ‘stimulus package‘). At the same time, I didn’t really want to give away my work for free. What to do?

I tried to explain to the person on the phone; I listened closely, and sympathized – “yes, I realize you’re a non-profit organization, but  my business, on the other hand, is NOT a non-profit“. This didn’t clarify things, apparently.

A different tact:  ”Well, you see, my rent doesn’t go down according to the charity work that your business does, and the food I eat doesn’t become free simply because I did a good deed for the day“. We got nowhere. (more…)

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Posted in Canada, Elk, Photo business., Photography, Rants, Wildlife | 8 Comments »

Wendell Berry and Guy Tal.

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

Winter in the Mentasta Mountains, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park.

A winter sunset over the Mentasta Mountains, Wrangell – St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

“The effort to clarify our sight cannot begin in the society, but only in the eye and in the mind. It is a spiritual quest, not a political function. We each must confront the world alone and learn to see it for ourselves”. So says Wendell Berry, one of my favorite writers, in his book “The Unforeseen Wilderness”. The book, a dearly needed plea to save Kentucky’s Red River Gorge from a nefarious plan to dam it, was written nearly 40 years ago. I haven’t read the book completely yet, as I just bought it this afternoon. But I glanced at it, and this passage caught my attention. Berry continues on:

“the figure of the photographic artist – not the tourist-photographer who goes to a place, bound by his intentions and preconceptions, to record what has already been recorded and what he therefore expects to find, but the photographer who goes into a place in search of the real news of it”.* (more…)

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Posted in Abstracts, Alaska, Elk, Fall, Forests, Lakes, Landscape features, Mountains, Photo business., Skiing, Snowboarding, Travel, Web Stuff, Winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 3 Comments »

Bull elk, fall colors, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.

Wednesday, September 26th, 2007

Bull elk, fall colors, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.

Hey Folks

I didn’t get to post anything yesterday, because we didn’t get anywhere that had wi-fi. So today I’ll make up for that by uploading 2 posts, the first one I had intended to upload yesterday but didn’t get a chance. This one is fresh out of the box.

Now we’re in the Canmore area, just south of Banff. Today I took my parents up to Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, and also drove the Minnewanka Loop, a sweet drive. The weather wasn’t the best, but could’ve been worse. Moraine Lake is a treat in any weather, so that was fun. Lake Louise is, in my opinion, really hard to enjoy unless you have the time to walk up the trail and leave the pandemonium of the Lodge and crowds behind. Even my poor old dad noted the irony (more…)

Posted in Canada, Elk, Jasper National Park, Travel, Wildlife | 2 Comments »

Bull Elk, Jasper National Park, Canada.

Sunday, September 23rd, 2007

Bull elk, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Hey Folks

Here’s the latest from the road! I shot this saturday evening, just before dark. I had long been looking to forward to bringing my parents thru the Canadian Rockies one fall, Jasper National Park in particular. I knew they’d love watching the elk in rut, hearing the bugles and feeling the energy of the place. We had an awesome day, and visited Maligne Lake where we hiked out for a mile or so along the shore, and enjoyed some quiet of the forest and nearby mountains, before walking back and having lunch down the road by Medicine Lake. A quick run into town for a milk shake, some email and shopping (my mother is a certified shopaholic) and we were back out in the park looking for elk. just before dark we found this bull and his harem. I grabbed my camera and tried to get some slow shutter speed images, blurring the motion of the elk as they moved about. I was really hoping I’d got this series right when it happened, as the bull looked awesome through the viewfinder. After dinner this evening, I browsed through the images from today and was glad to see this was pretty close to what I was hoping for. A nice bull elk image, conveying the frenetic energy of the rut, and the intensity of the great animals.

Photographing elk is an addiction, I’m the first to admit. The rut is so different to other ungulates because of the setting (majestic mountains ranges such as the Rockies), the crisp fall air, fall colors, and the bugling. That bugling is such an amazing sound. my mum asked my why the elk bulls bugle, and I wasn’t sure. Some say it’s an expression of dominance, a challenge to other bulls, or a call to females. It could well be an expression of the sheer exuberance of being alive and a part of this incredible experience. I think if I could bugle like that as the mist settles down on the pine forest in the Canadian Rockies, I probably would too!

Cheers

Carl

Posted in Canada, Elk, Jasper National Park, Wildlife | No Comments »