Elk in the Rocky Mountains

A Bull Elk by Moraine Park in Rocky Mountain National Park

We took a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park this past February to do some snowshoeing. I wasn’t sure if there would be any wildlife around at that time, but I took my 500mm lens to capture some just in case.

Sure enough, on our way back from a snowshoe hike the first evening, I saw this guy! It was really late and the light was really low, so the ISO was up to 3200.

A Bull Elk in the late evening. f5.6 | 1/125 sec | 500mm | ISO 3200

On our way back the next day, we ran into a group of Elk on the side of a hill. I was able to get a shot of these two just as the sun opened up a bit.

Two Bull Elk just hanging out. f.71 | 1/500 sec | 500mm | ISO 500

At the same area, there was this guy busy eating. I must have waited 20 minutes for him to look up, he never did…

Elk munching. f6.3 | 1/500 sec | 500mm | ISO 560

Continuing our way back, we saw this guy. I think it’s the same Elk I saw the first night, even though he was a couple of hills over from before. I was able to get a few shots before the light was too low. When he looked up directly at me, I decided I had gotten enough shots! I was at least 50 yards away from him. Note that you need to maintain a minimum distance of 75 feet (23 meters) from Elk.

Bull Elk staring me down! f6.3 | 1/125 sec | 500mm | ISO 200