Colorado Elk Photos Rocky Mountain National Park

Photos of Colorado Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park. After completing our sunrise photos from Trail Ridge Road we made our way down to the Fall River Road area for Elk viewing. Upon arrival we spotted two Bull Elk locking horns. The larger more mature bull had higher ground over the more juvenile bull Elk and he won this short challenge. It is rutting season this time of the year in Rocky. Still overcast as well as cool temperatures kept the Elk fairly active. During rutting season you can hear a chorus of bull Elk bugling. This is to assert their dominance over other bulls in the area. Listen to the recordings below to hear what bugling bull elk sound like. These images were taken from near Fall River Road and Horseshoe Park on September 5th in 2018 around 8:11am to 8:55am.

Colorado Elk Rocky Mountain National Park Photo Gallery

Gear Used to Photograph Colorado Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park

The following camera gear was used in the Wildlife Photography of Colorado Elk during rutting season in Rocky Mountain National Park:

• a Nikon D850 with MD18 Battery Grip and Really Right Stuff L-Bracket,
• F-Stop Gear Aloe Green Tilopa Back Pack (with large Pro ICU),
• the Tamron 150-600mm, f/5-6.3,
• a Really Right Stuff TVC-34L tripod with series 3 quick column,
• with a Movo GH800 Carbon Fiber Professional Gimbal Tripod Head with Arca-Swiss Quick-Release Plate.

The 8-9am morning exposures for the Elk photos averaged between 1/250 second and 1/1250 second at f/6.3 with an ISO of 1250 and 1600. We used the Nikon D850’s Aperture Priority Mode. The focal length used to capture the images averaged between 500mm and 600mm. The Elk were very active this morning so most of the images on this page were captured off the tripod and taken hand held.

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