Bull caribou, Alaska range mountains, Denali National Park, Alaska. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f/4L IS, 1/250 sec @ f/4, ISO 400.
In keeping with the theme of wildlife in a contextual landscape, I took this photo in Sable Pass, which is a region of Denali Park that is off limits to hiking. From the road, I watched this bull caribou on a distant ridge and the late evening light sprinkled in a little. I was hoping it would land on the caribou but the clouds were a little thick for that. I used my 500, which I use often for scenic mountain photography. The wind was stiff so anchoring it on a tripod was essential to get a sharp image.
Such a fantastic scene! The antlers of the caribou have such a beautiful shape for a backlit scene, and those bright patches of sunlight on the clouds and mountains are great!
Thanks, Pat, there are so many great scenes in that park landscape. Finding wildlife to fit them is the only challenge.
It doesn’t get much better than this. Magnificent.