alangriffin
FollowCalled in this guy one morning.
Called in this guy one morning.
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Chatter Award
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Top Shot Award 22
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Winner in Moose Photo Challenge
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Contest Finalist in A World Of Brown Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in On The Wild Side Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in From Afar: Wildlife Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Horns And Antlers Photo Contest
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken east of Idaho Falls, ID on a cool fall day in October. I had heard of Moose in the area so I went out and tried to call one in.Time
I started the day around 5am walking around in the woods looking for any sign of moose (hoof prints or poop or tree scrapings). After walking around for a while scaring up a bunch of Mule Deer, I finally heard something off in the distance in some trees that sounded to big to be a deer. After hiding behind some trees and making some calls, he came up to within 30 yards. It was a little nerve racking being that close to a large animal with nothing more than my camera, but once he realized I wasn't another Moose, he just went back to grazing.Lighting
The lighting for this particular shot was pretty poor. The Idaho sunrises come later and later this time of year and this day was pretty overcast.Equipment
This was shot on a Nikon D3 in manual mode (ISO 1250, 1/125s) with a Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 lens (shot at 300mm, f/2.8 due to low light). This was a hand held shot as well since I was having to hike around and hide behind some trees.Inspiration
My love for the great outdoors and wildlife in general always gets me excited to go out and photograph big game animals. I had never tried calling in a Moose before so I thought this would be a great time to try.Editing
I processed the RAW file in Adobe Camera RAW. When doing so, the program knocks down the saturation and vibrance. The only processing I have done to this is tweak those 2 settings so that they accurately reflect the real environment.In my camera bag
I always have my D3 and Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 on hand. Occasionally I will use my 2X teleconverter for those really long shots. When I want a wide angle shot I will throw on my 17-35mm lens.Feedback
Do lots of research on techniques to call in animals and ways of camouflaging yourself. Always remember that these guys can hurt you in no time, so make sure you respect the animal first and foremost. Big lenses help you keep your distance.