Mama Moose, Close! Photo

Photographer’s Note

I got this picture of a moose in Grand Teton National Park. Moose are the largest members of the deer family. An adult moose stands 5-6 feet or 1.5–1.8 meters high at the shoulder. Males weigh 850 to 1180 pounds (380–535 kg) and females weigh 600-800 pounds (270–360 kg).

It was a lot of patience in order to get this close. She kept inching forward and instead of backup up slowly like I had been I decided just to stay where I was and see what she would do. I wasn’t that nervous because I wasn't in between her and her offspring and she didn't appear nervous. The people behind me were about ready to have a heart attack but I never was nervous. I took several shots here and couldn’t decide which ones to post so I will post workshops of the other ones. I took one of the side of her face and one macro shot. I decided I'd never be this close to moose ever again so I might as well do a macro shot!

Taken around 2pm.

Didi, alainh, plimrn, PixelTerror, Emile, papagolf21, ChrisJ, mumek, cunejo200, cessy, jhm, Tue, robiuk has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

PJE (19405) 2007-11-28 17:23

Wow Stephen. I have to congratulate you on this moose image. Wonderful setting with the moose poking her head through the trees. Excellent lighting too. Wonderful capture.. I love it!

Alain (288) 2007-11-28 17:43

This is good. I like the moose pointing her snout through the branches. It gives a calm action to the photo.

Emile (19901) 2007-11-28 21:17

Hola Stephen.
You were very lucky to get a shot of the moose so near without running away, I mean the moose running away !!, looks like there is a mark on the left ear, maybe one of the mark that are use to fallow the animals in the forest and see where they go and maybe, just maybe, the reason why she is so docile is because she has been in contact with humans before. Your shot is very good with great sharpness and colors contrast, good POV. Very well framed. Your two WS are also very good.
Well done. TFS.
Best regards.

papagolf21 (56233) 2007-11-29 0:38

Bonjour, mon ami Stephen,
Il faut avoir des nerfs d'acier pour réussir de telles photographies. Un grand bravo pour avoir réussi cette excellente image de cet élan. J'aime beaucoup sa posture et ses yeux très curieux.
Excellente prise de vue.
Amitiés.
Philippe

Leonie (8647) 2007-11-29 1:01

Hi there Stephen,
I missed some here...great capture..I love these animals..in Europe we have elks in the Scandinavian countries..they remind me of Xmas together with the reindeers! :) Cheers, Léonie

ChrisJ (70099) 2007-11-29 2:11

Hi Stephen

Good dof & sharpness on the fg moose, with natural looking colour & good framing & composition. The fg vegetation adds depth. Well done!

mumek (17468) 2007-11-29 2:34

Good morning Stephen!
This is a very impressive artistic work! Lovely composition, great depth of the field,
excellent play of the colours, light ,shadows and sharp details. Thanks for very interesting note
best regards
ziggy

cunejo200 (7157) 2007-11-29 3:19

Incredible Stephen. I could'nt ask more for a woldlife composition. The moose peeking out of the woods has good shrapness, color appear natural, and there is good depth. A really good one. Greetings! Danilo

batalay (20836) 2007-11-29 5:57

Hello Stephen,

Your photograph is astonishing! Short of mounting a camera on a the horns of a moose of the opposite sex and tripping the camera remotely, I cannot imagine getting this close to a thousand-pound specimen, measuring six feet at its shoulders. The profile shots are at least as impressive.

Warm regards,

Bulent

Cormac (26449) 2007-11-29 7:17

Wow, that's a great shot of the moose! It's been a long time since I've seen one, so this is a special treat for me. This is almost what you could call an animal portrait, you are so close and the moose is looking right at you. Excellent work!

cessy (13647) 2007-11-29 7:30

hehehe.. your patience paid off very well :)
very nice catch of the moose, you even got the 'macro'shot of her :)
excellent light and framing of the trees

danyy (68572) 2007-11-29 23:22

Bonjour Stephen,
un gros plan très astucieux avec un cadrage naturel et bien coloré, un mélange de faune et de flore. J'aime bien ce cadrage et la DOF, qui donne du relief.

Regards.
Daniel.

PixelTerror (86038) 2007-11-30 1:46

Hi Steve,
The thumbnail of this one is not very eye catching, only after some impregnating time can the viewer realize that it is luminous in the dark surroundings and that the focus is top notch.
Have a nice day JY

jemaflor (39235) 2007-11-30 3:43

Hi Stephen,
Well taken with a good focus, interesting result for this close up.

plimrn (19600) 2007-11-30 22:45

Hi Steve,
Wonderful detail in all three photos, I think you made the right choice because the trees are really the natural habitat and they give you great DOF.
Capturing a moose is an exciting experience; but you contained your excitement and got three great portraits. You must have done a really good job of moving in a nonthreatening manner. In Alaska, my best moose always kept the distance always at about 6 feet. I've never seen a moose in Wyoming although we did see one at a ski area in BC.
HLJ, Pat

alainh (35359) 2007-12-01 0:20

hello Stephen
simply Excelent !!! a very funny tittle for this good capture.
impressive meeting and picture top
have a nice day Stephen
alain

Didi (36044) 2007-12-01 11:48

Hi Stephen
Nice close encounter of the third kind :)
Very lucky to catch this wild animal; it's head looks like a horse.
Well done.
Cheers.

Mishe (3513) 2007-12-02 7:16 [Comment]

Show Comment

jhm (82297) 2007-12-04 4:28

Hello Stephen,

I'm not very quick nervous, but this is very close!
All three the pictures are very nice, certain the last of the WS is absolutely lovely.
This is real unique, my compliments for this series.
Thanks for sharing.

Have a nice day,
John.

Tue (25608) 2007-12-05 5:35

Hej Stephen,
An excellent photo of this moose from so close and I also like the photos in the WS a lot! It's great to see how she is looking at you through the trees. The light is also very attractive. Well captured and thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Lars

Kenny10pin (19301) 2007-12-11 4:50

very nice picture, really crisp and good blur too, well seen and spotted

robiuk (10763) 2008-01-26 8:30

I love this one, Stephen!
It's so different and I couldn't spot
the moose from the thumbnail, so this
has given me a really good chuckle upon
opening.
I like the macro shot as well, but this
one I think is the best as she really look
cute giving us that innocent look.
Cheers,
Robi

Photo Information

Copyright: Stephen Inguanti (singuanti) (15240)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-09-03
Categories: Nature
Camera: Nikon D200, Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED AFS VR, Hoya HMC Super UV(0)
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/500 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Date Submitted: 2007-11-28 17:07