Ken Papaleo: X Marks the Shot: Building a herd at Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Colorado.

"X Shot" information.

Camera - Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

ISO - 1600

Shutter - 1/1600 sec.

F/stop - 4

Lens - 500 mm

NOTE - mono pod used for this shot.

Challenge.

It was a few days past Labor Day and I was wondering if it was to early to get photos of the elk rut. I figured what the heck, go to Rocky Mountain National Park and check it out.

Solution.

Left my house at 3:30 am, to make the 2 and a half hour drive to the park entrance. Arriving just about sunrise, my gear was already. One body had a 500 mm lens, with a mono pod, the other had a 70 - 200 zoom. My ISO was set high, for the dim early light. The f/stops were ready, all I would have to set was the shutter speed. There was no trouble spotting rut action. The bulls were building their herds and weren't getting into any battles yet. The good think was not many park visitors yet, so pretty easy to move around. Should be activity for the next two months.