I had an awesome opportunity to visit Colorado during the Elk rut last week. It was one of the better wildlife opportunities of the year, as there were many bulls competing with each other for breeding rights.
Bugling and rutting activity would occur throughout the day, so it was a busy time trying to keep up with the elk. I was there for 4 full days, and every day I completely drained both of my 5D batteries. On two days I had to visit go to where there was an electrical outlet in order to recharge one of the batteries.
Why not just switch over to the 1D when the 5D batteries would die? Because I really needed the full frame of the 5D - the elk allowed to approach so close that I often had to back up just to fit enough elk into the frame! I used my 400mm, but a 300 would have been a better choice.
If anyone goes to CO to shoot rutting elk with a 1.6 crop body, I recommend a 200mm lens if using a prime, or a 70-200mm zoom. They are very large animals that let you get right up on them.
This was a great trip overall. I did go specifically for rutting Elk, but was also lucky enough to get to photograph Mule Deer, Magpies, Mallards, a Bighorn Sheep, and a Moose! It was a great time and I'm already planning to return next year for this spectacular event!
By the way, forum rules allow me to attach only two images to this thread - unless someone requests more. So please, if you'd like to see more elk images here, just ask.
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