I went for a walk yesterday, close to home in search of a bull elk. This is the best time of year to photograph them, during the annual rut (mating season). They are truly magnificent animals. Regrettably, I didn’t find any so I turned my attention to the scenic surroundings and took a few landscape pictures. The weather was great, so why not.
Since I went equipped to shoot wildlife, I did not have the usual lenses I would use for that purpose. It was fun to improvise using a telephoto, I had to compose the pictures quite differently and pay close attention to depth of field, very shallow with a long lens. I was carrying a 100-400 mm lens with a 1.4x teleconverter. I took most of the shots at the minimum magnification, 140 mm focal length and I was quite satisfied with the results.
Here’s my first, some aspen trees in full colour. This picture was taken along the road, not far from home.
Most of my pictures were taken in a popular location for elk, an abandoned golf course. Work on the course was halted in 2008, during the recession that took place at that time. A bad time to open a course. The elk quite like it; broad, open expanses, good for grazing and visibility. They can spot a predator long before it becomes a serious threat. This image shows the limitations and advantages of using a long lens for a landscape scene. It has a much narrower focus. But it creates telescopic distortion, compressing the image, giving the impression that the background is much closer. This technique can be used to advantage to emphasize the looming presence of the mountains.
The next shot, taken in the opposite direction displays Canmore’s landmark geological feature, the Three Sisters. Three you ask? I could not get the third one into the picture with the minimum focal length of the lens. As Meatloaf once sang, “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad”.
One of my favourite views, Mount Rundle viewed looking west toward Banff. It was taken from the roadside on my way home. This is a scene we see every time (except for cloudy days of course) we return home via the Three Sisters Parkway.
It was a nice walk, something I’ll do again soon. Hopefully, I’ll spot the elusive bull elk and get a few pictures of him.
Beautiful.