Elk Silhouette, Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park, Colorado

On this particular late afternoon, we again were scouting a place for sunset.  The Fern Lake Fire in the park blocked us off from the Bear Lake Road section of the park and we had already travelled Trail Ridge Road several times.  This led us to the Horseshoe Park section.  Approaching the area, there were a large number of cars watching this bull elk with about 8 females in his harem.  I watched them mingle around for almost an hour and it was then I began to lose all the front sunlight on them.  Most everyone left by that point as it was beginning to get dark.  However, I knew I had a photo if I could witness some interaction.  Then, about 15 minutes later, the bull stood up and made his way over to this female elk (cow).  I fired off about 10 frames or so and caught this interaction perfectly.  To me, it was one of those rare, tender moments in nature which are often very fleeting.  This expression of affection is perfect for the February calendar photo.

Photo tip: For silhouettes...expose for the background, recompose, then fire the shutter.  Your camera will expose for the background and render the foreground black.  Be sure you have a strong, recognizable feature in the foreground.

Good light,

Bill

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