In the coastal range of the Pacific Northwest, Roosevelt elk are currently in rut. Roosevelt elk are the largest elk in North America. This dominant male had gathered a harem of 40 females, some with young. We were on foot and well aware of the importance of staying about 50 yards away and not making any eye contact or sudden moves. The bulls are extremely aggressive and easily agitated during this time. This beautiful male was said to be about 1000 pounds.
Handheld Canon EOS R5, 100-500mm zoom lens
400 mm, f/9.0, 1/2500 sec, ISO 2500
Post-processing: Decreased highlights and shadows, decreased exposure and clarity of the background, and cropped. I removed a collar from one of the cows. The bull could sprint and was working to keep his harem together. He was what is known as an ‘imperial’ bull elk, mean his age, size and number of points on his antler rack made him the dominant elk in the area. Another bull tried to heard 5 of his cows off, but he was promptly chased off.
6 comments posted
Tracy Kaminer
Wow. What fun to see this. 40 females. A sight to behold. I also would have taken the collar off. I know the importance of them for researchers, but as a photographer they are a bummer. What a magnificent bull elk. I agree with darkening the background, but I'd like to see the elk brought out even more by lightning them if that would work, especially the bull elk's face. I also might crop out the elk on the left that is looking away. Very interesting capture. Posted: 10/06/2026 17:34:44
Mike Cohen
This image has a lot of immediate impact for me. The star elk is imposing as he looks over his harem with a magnificent rack. I'm not too bothered by the female looking away but you might watch to see how it looks with something like a 4x5 vertical crop. I like your post processing. Nice job. Posted: 10/08/2026 11:54:12
Pamela Hoaglund
A great capture of this magnificent bull with his ladies. I think your post processing works well. There is a lot of contrast here with the sun and shade dappling the elk. I think a square crop or a 4x5 crop as Mike suggested would bring the focus more onto the bull and the cows in front of him. It would also remove the head of the elk on the left that is looking away and whose nose is touching the frame as well as the ear hanging on the right side of the frame. Posted: 10/10/2026 23:08:10
Sharon Prislipsky
For me, a tighter crop would work better and would eliminate the elk on the left that is looking back toward the treeline. I would also crop a bit more on the right so we don't see the ear of the last elk while the rest is out of the frame. If you would like to continue to work with this image you might dodge the left side of the bull's head to separate it more from the background. Try it and see what you think. Posted: 10/13/2026 18:38:14
Tom Brott
A wonderful image. I like the stance of the bull guarding his harem. The bull appears to be saying this is mine!
I believe with the size of the collars in your original it was a smart choice to remove them as they are distracting.
I also agree with the others that a tighter crop would work better. Sharon's suggestion of dodging the bulls head to me has merit and should be tried. Posted: 10/19/2026 20:46:00
Judith Lesnaw
The story is the crux of this image. I would neither crop nor remove the collars. As shot the image displays the scope of his harum. The presence of the collars reflects the ability of these cows to blend in and function in the harum in spite of human interference. The male is magnificent, and the fall of the light on him is wonderful.
Posted: 10/22/2026 19:51:02
