Elk Rut: Arrival in the Rockies

Elk Rut 2014: Jasper National Park

Setting the scene…

The blue of the Canadian Rockies... — The blue of the Canadian Rockies…

The Canadian Rockies, a magnificent place to visit any time of the year, rarely disappoints those who visit. For my most recent trip, I was fortunate to experience the jewel of the North American Rocky Mountains during the autumn elk rut. For most of the year, elk keep to themselves and live relatively benign, and quiet lives. Not so during the elk rut. Bull elk dash back and forth, vocalizing and clashing violently with other bulls and careless photographers; defending harem and territory….

Snow Striped Peaks, a signature of the Canadian Rockies

Their bugles bounce off the nearby peaks and aretes in an attempt to intimidate and impress. In turn, impressed cows will present themselves to the crazed bull for mating. Yellow larch and aspen trees and turquoise glacial silt add a splash of vibrancy to the landscape with snow striped mountains.

Getting there

I landed in Calgary at around midnight Friday night/Saturday morning, hopped into my rental car and headed west for what would be a long weekend in the Canadian Rockies. Following the Trans-Canada Highway, I reached the Banff entrance gate in just over an hour. Another hour beyond the park boundary was Lake Louise. With no time to waste, I didn’t stop. I had night photography on my mind, and needed to find a spot to do some shooting. At Lake Louise the Trans-Canada Highway intersects Alberta Highway-93, also known as The Icefields Parkway.

Looking north, Vega and traces of a distant aurora, or airglow, difficult to know for sure

Following this road north I made my way to Peyto Lake, and took a stab at doing night photography on the moonless, but clear night. After a full day at work, plane ride to Calgary, and 3 hour drive into the rockies, I wasn’t feeling particularly ambitious for a night photo session. Plus I was here for the elk, so I took it relatively easy this first night, only shooting for 90 minutes. At Peyto Lake, there was a hint of the Northern Lights to the north and some clouds moving through the sky. At 04:00 I broke down my gear and sought out a quiet parking lot to take a nap in, which I came upon a few miles down the road. I would cover the final two hours of the Icefields Parkway drive to Jasper the next morning…

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Elk Rut: Jasper, Alberta

I will be spending a long weekend in Jasper National Park during the elk rut and looking for late season grizzly bears. Extremely excited to be back in the Canadian Rockies, Jasper is a jewel in crown of North America.

Gear

In terms of gear I am going heavy:

Canon 1D-X
Canon 1D-IV
Canon 6D

600mm f/4 IS II
300mm f/2.8 IS
70-200mm f/2.8 IS II
24-105mm f/4
24mm f/1.4 II
17-40mm f/4

2x Extender III
1.4 Extender III
25 Extension Tube
12 Extension Tube

2 intervalometers
SureFire G2 Nitrolon Torch

6 LP-E4N Batteries
6 LP-E6 Batteries

And the amazing thing is that all of this and more fits into my Think Tank Airport Accelerator bag.

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Kenai Fjords Panorama

I had been shooting several multi-exposure panoramic shots and when we reach the center of this fjord inlet, the captain was polite enough to do a 360 degree rotation. While this view is not a 360 degree panorama, it is about 220 degree.

This is a 32 frame panorama stitched together in CS6 with dimensions 22841 x 6455.

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Alaska: Kenai Fjords NP

Part 1 Kenai Fjords + Seward

The September Alaska photo expedition began in Anchorage where my parents, who were on their way back from a week in Denali, picked me up. The time here was spent hiking, hunting for wildlife, and taking a boat ride to view Fjords from the sea.

Day 1- Anchorage to Whittier, Portage Glacier hike
Day 2- Seward, Exit Glacier hike. Kenai Fjords National Park
Day 3- Seward, tour of Northwestern glacier and fjord. Kenai Fjords National Park

The definite highlights of this portion of the trip was the Exit Glacier hike to the Harding Icefield in Kenai Fjord National Park. This is a beautiful, but relatively strenuous, 8-9 mile dayhike with a 3000 foot elevation change. However, the rewards for this trek are plenty. Wildlife dotted the hillsides, and the view of the Harding Icefield is spectacular. Ice stretching to the horizon as far as you can see, with mountain peaks poking through.

The next day was a Kenai Fjord boat tour. 9 hours in length, it leaves Resurrection Bay and hugs the coastline all the way down to Northwestern Fjord/Glacier. The views afforded from a seaside vantage point were spectacular. This is one place that is best experienced from the water (unless you are an expert glacier traverser). The only way to improve on this boat experience is to go by kayak, gliding silently between the icebergs and camp on some isolated beach. Wildlife was also abundant. Wildlife photography from a boat is typically never easy, and when you are using a fixed 600mm lens with 1.4x extender, the challenges are increased even further. But despite this, I was able to get get some decent bird, seal, sea lion, and orca photos. However, my mom was able to capture a couple orca breaches! Very jealous of that!

The Seward area is tucked into a bay surrounded by seaside mountains, therefore there isn’t much sunrise or sunset light getting the ground, save for the highest peaks. But each night I was take walks and use this period of gentle light to search for eagles in the surrounding areas. I was even able to use the fiery sunset colors with some eagle “headshots”.