Resting Moose
May, 2014Views
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Awards
Zenith Award
Top Shot Award 22
Contest Finalist in Can You See Me Photo Contest
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
Genius
All Star
Superior Skill
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in one of my absolute favorite places - Grand Teton National Park.Time
The best time to view moose is early morning or late evening - this is when they are up moving around. The middle of the day is when they bed down and rest and it makes them incredibly hard to find, as they blend in so well with their surroundings. For this shot, I was very lucky - it was late morning and I saw this one standing before it laid down. Luckily it was close to the road and I was able to stay far enough away not to disturb it or agitate it.Lighting
It was snowing this day and the sky was overcast. It was a bit later than I normally would be out shooting as lighting gets harsh midday, but the cloud cover helped even out the light and prevented any harsh light.Equipment
I shot this photo with my Nikon D810 and 70-200mm f/2.8 lens.Inspiration
Moose are one of my absolute favorite animals! I spend a great amount of time when I'm in Grand Teton looking for wildlife, and never pass up an opportunity to photograph moose. I love this one because you can see he's started growing back his antlers and he blends in so well with the background.Editing
I shoot in RAW so I always do standard adjustments such as adding contrast, setting the white and black points and for this one, cropping in closer on the animal. I used to mainly use Photoshop, but have started to learn Lightroom and prefer to use that for editing now.In my camera bag
When I'm out photographing, I usually carry 2 camera bodies - one with a longer lens, like my 70-200 or my 80-400, and the second with a wider lens, usually my 24-70mm. This way, I can cover almost any scenario while I'm out without having to switch lenses. I usually always carry my wide angle and macro lenses, even though I rarely use them.Feedback
Any time you are trying to photograph wildlife, the number one thing you have to have is patience, and the second would probably be luck! Sometimes you'll be out and see tons of wildlife - other days you won't see any. I like to have a camera with a lens mounted ready to go, so if I find one I'm ready to photograph... most of the time the animals will not hang around for you to get the shot you want. I spent about 40 minutes watching this moose and waiting to get this shot.
