Moose in Rocky Mountain Park

As I mentioned in my Elk thread, I found a Moose while in the park. He was very cooperative, allowing me to follow him around thru the swampy terrain for about an hour. Eventually he tired of the game, bedded down, and turned away from me. But it was a great hour of shooting he gave to em. Here are a couple of the images I was able to get:
(the "foreign objects" in the first image are actually snow flakes - it was cold!)

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Wow, great images again Tom. You must have been very close to him as evidenced in the first shot. A little more DOF in that one to get his nose in focus would have made it even better. What f stop was that shot at?
I can't wait to see my first moose in the wild.
Bob

Snow Goose wrote in post #8734623
Wow, great images again Tom. You must have been very close to him as evidenced in the first shot. A little more DOF in that one to get his nose in focus would have made it even better. What f stop was that shot at?
I can't wait to see my first moose in the wild.
Bob

Bob, I was only at f4, which accounts for the shallow depth of field to some degree. I've actually been doing a little research on DOF.

What made me curious about this topic was the fact that I seem to notice very little difference in DOF with my images, wether they be taken at f4, f8, or even f16. So I started a thread over in the "Bird Talk" section and learned that when using lenses of long focal length, combined with subjects at very close range, you basically don't get much depth of field, regardless of the f stop used. That's why I've started shooting a little more frequently at the more open apertures. Although I must admit that with my lens, the sharpest images seem to come at f7.1 or f8.

I don't know why I was down at f4 for this image - could be that I had opened it up to f4 a few moments before due to dark skies. The weather down there changed literally every few minutes.

I'd like to be there with you when you see your first moose! Maybe it'll be this one (see attached). Remember the swamp in the area where we photographed the Ruffed Grouse? Well, this moose was feeding right there in that swamp back in late June. I saw three other moose there this summer, as well as a bigger-antlered bull in a tiny pothole about 4 miles north of there. There are alot around here, although they are elusive and somewhat difficult to find.

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Three wonderful images Tom. Really like the first one!

Great shots, as usual, Tom. I love the way a moose will turn and look back at you, almost like he is pleading. That second shot shows what a healthy specimen he is. The ones I've seen in RMNP were all on the west side, where was this one?

Three Fine Mice
Three Fine Mice



Very nicely captured Tom

sparker1 wrote in post #8736867
Great shots, as usual, Tom. I love the way a moose will turn and look back at you, almost like he is pleading. That second shot shows what a healthy specimen he is. The ones I've seen in RMNP were all on the west side, where was this one?

He was, oddly, on the east side. Everyone says they're really only over on the west side. A ranger I spoke with was very surprised that I saw this moose where I did. He was in west Horseshoe Park. Down in the thick, swampy area to the south of the open meadow.

Again, very nice job. Keep posting, and we will keep coming back!

Another couple of crackers Tom. Nice catches.

Matt.

Great shots Tom. Looked for a bull moose for a week in Yellowstone & Grand Teton's and only saw one from 200+ yards.

I love that 2nd shot and the one in the water...excellent images Tom! I want to see a moose! Any baby moose shots? Snow already, gee I'm not ready for that here!

Where exactly was it at? I am will be in the park tomorrow afternoon and am trying to get the lay of the land.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #8736994
He was, oddly, on the east side. Everyone says they're really only over on the west side. A ranger I spoke with was very surprised that I saw this moose where I did. He was in west Horseshoe Park. Down in the thick, swampy area to the south of the open meadow.

Thanks, Tom.

Thank you , everyone, for the kind comments. It's a joy to share images with you all!

sweetlu60 wrote in post #8738921
Where exactly was it at? I am will be in the park tomorrow afternoon and am trying to get the lay of the land.

Hi, Steve!

The best way I know of to tell you the Moose's exact location is this:

Look at the park map - the map they hand you at the entrance station when you enter the park. Look for where it says "West Horseshoe Park". The Moose was right where the "r" in "Horseshoe" is.

Wounderfull