After many years of photographing in Denali National Park, I can tell you that it is not every day that a bull moose walks in front of Mt McKinley, on a clear day, when you are situated in an opportunity to photograph it. As a matter of fact, probably only a handful of times in my career. In late August I had an amazing opportunity, which was largely serendipitous, a little bit lucky, and a tiny bit of persistence. The bull moose had wandered into the shadowed alders to browse, while a group of us photographers waited around for it to make a possible reappearance.
Meanwhile, I wandered off to photograph Denali reflecting in some small tundra ponds in the area, as the morning light was fading and beginning to get bright. After meandering back from one pond to this one, the bull moose had moved out of the shadows and appeared to be going in the opposite direction. I waited by the pond in hopes that it changed its mind, which it did, and traversed right across the tundra in front of Denali. In retrospect, a photographer replays this event over and over, considering all the ways the scene could have been shot. I was still a bit in landscape mode, and I was preferring to get a shot of the moose contextually placed by the colorful tundra pond. But the shooting window is very narrow and you only have a few frames to compose. I picked off a couple that I like, but when comparing with my colleague’s photos, who was not as near to the water as I was, I liked his vantage point better. Oh well, its hard to complain about this kind of opportunity, and I’m pleased that these few pictures are sharp and clean. Thank you moose and mountain.
I used a polarizer to limit some of the reflection on the tundra vegetation. This worked due to the perpendicular angle of the sun to the scene. The filter robs over a stop of light, so I bumped up the ISO to 400, and used an f/stop of 9 to get some depth of field. An f/stop of 13 would have been nice, but while the mountain is not super sharp in the picture, it is pretty distinguishable. I shot in manual mode and maximized exposure for the shadows, knowing that the dark moose would need some fill light, and I wanted that capability without introducing too much noise.
Bull moose reflection in a small kettle pond with the summit of Mt McKinley in the distance, Denali National Park, Alaska. Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm (105mm) 1/160 sec @ f/9, ISO 400, w/polarizer
Bull moose walks across the autumn colored tundra by a small kettle pond with the summit of Mt McKinley in the distance, Denali National Park, Alaska. Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm (40mm) 1/160 sec @ f/9, ISO 400, w/polarizer
SO, SO, SO, SO,… AWESOME!!!! 🙂
I think the wide-angle photo is very uniquely compelling. It’s the first image I can recall having ever seen in which a main subject is leaving the center of the frame without triggering my compulsive urge to re-compose. The majesty of Denali offsets the moose in a very interesting, story-telling way for me. It’s clearly late autumn, and these brilliant colors are on their way out. The exiting moose seems to be telling that story to me, and so makes the composition work while “breaking the rules”. I really LOVE this photo, Patrick! Wow!!! Way to see!!! 🙂
Tim, Your thoughtful compositional analysis is a bit beyond my intention, but I did not have much choice but to keep on shooting. I have a variety of horizontal frames and some which include the foreground grass, but it the moose is less obvious since it blends in so well with the background. In this wider shot, the eye instantly recognizes the animals, so I preferred it.
Sometimes you see shots that just make you sit & stare at the image. Incredible stunning shots of a lifetime. Denali shots on a clear day are one thing to behold, but having such a magnificent subject in the same frame really sets the bar up to a new level. I think you should go buy a lotto ticket after this latest capture.
Looks like all the camera gear you carry in the field’s quite heavy. I’d “volunteer” to tote it around for you so you can concentrate on your subjects. I’d work for trail mix, and being from Wisconsin, beer, of course. Thanks for sharing the images and GO PACK!
Simply an amazing and beautiful shot. I love how humbled it makes me feel. I grew up in northern BC and used to see Moose on a regular basis. This photo captures those feelings and more. There is a sense of regency, strength, and wonder. From Mt. McKinley to the intensity of the sky. Simply awesome. Keep up the incredible journey. Visiting Alaska is #1 on my bucket list – problem is, I doubt I’d want to return. Cheers
Charles, Thanks and make sure to keep Alaska on that list. I was one of those that never did return after coming!
Hey Bruce, Many thanks for your comments and your offer to carry beer in the field, or was that gear? I have three siblings who are diehard Packer fans. A dangerous breed 🙂
This is wonderful Patrick! Since I was nearby and had some idea as to what you captured, I had really been looking forward to the final result – beautiful!
Thank you Ron, it was not clear to me if you shot this scene from afar? I think it would have rendered a very nice scene from a little higher elevation.
I did, but without the pond. The pond adds a wonderful element!
Spectacular.