Jim Coda Nature Photography

June 9, 2012May 26, 2018Rocky Mountain Elk

Nervous Cow Elk, Yellowstone National Park

As I was driving from Mammoth to Tower shortly after sunrise one morning I spotted this lone cow elk looking at me. She seemed very nervous. She looks like she may be pregnant and I assume she was close to giving birth. When cow elk are close to giving birth they go off by themselves for the birthing. The calf is kept hidden for about a week. The cow moves her calf (or calves) several times a day during that seven days and they stay motionless until their mom comes back to feed and move them. Even so, predators find a lot of them.

The lighting was very bad for this photo. You can see from the rim lighting around the elk’s body that the sun was coming from behind it. The number one rule in outdoor photography is keep the sun at your back. Well, you can’t always follow the rules in wildlife photography. Elk aren’t models you can move around. I did what I could at the time which was to compensate some by overexposing a bit and then compensated some more in Photoshop. In the film days one could do, or attempt to do, the same thing in printing by dodging and burning, but the methods then were somewhat crude compared to what Photoshop allows one to do to mitigate exposure problems. In this case I used the adjustment brush in Adobe Camera Raw to lighten the face and neck and then further refined the lighting/exposure using Shadows/Highlights and Curves.

Photo of underexposed elk. — Backlit Cow Elk

Here is what the image would have looked like, but for the adjustments described above in camera and Photoshop. (The other difference from the top image is that I didn’t bother to crop this image.)

May 12, 2011Uncategorized

Tule Elk Cows and Calves

Photo of some cow elk and calves. — Tule Elk Cows and Calves, Point Reyes National Seashore

Elk calving has been going on for a while at Point Reyes. This photo was taken on April 28. Mothers keep their calves hidden for the first two weeks or so because it is the best protection from predators. By two weeks of age they can run with the adults. Given that, I assume these calves were born no later than April 14. I have also been seeing fawns lately. As you can see, wildflowers are also well underway.

April 20, 2011Uncategorized

Northern Harrier Asks: “Are you finished?” Pt. Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a male northern harrier. — What are YOU looking at?

This male northern harrier looks like he’s getting fed up with something — maybe me. Birds seem to look that way sometimes. It reminds me of the mad duck image I posted here. Maybe it’s more like: “Oh no, not you again.” It’s funny, herbivores often look like they are smiling. See my post on the bison calf below. Also, the cow elk here. Carnivores seem to have more of a poker face, but even with them I’ve seen what looked like a smile. I’m thinking of this one wolf that seemed to be smiling. See this link. Of course, I should mention the always-smiling porpoises and dolphins. And then there are the chimpanzees who not only smile, but laugh. Maybe I need to spend more time doing landscape photography.

March 31, 2011Uncategorized

Coyote in Gopherville

A coyote walks through a green field. — Coyote, Point Reyes National Seashore

This coyote was photographed hunting gophers on ranch land in Point Reyes National Seashore. The ranch lands provide good habitat for gophers. A healthy population of gophers (and other rodents) means a good food supply for predators that feed on gophers, such as coyotes, bobcats and badgers. When I drive through these lands, most other drivers are intent on getting by me and getting to their destinations as quickly as possible. They seem oblivious to the wildlife they pass by. If you would like to purchase a print of this image click here.

February 13, 2011Uncategorized

Bobcat Hunting Gophers

A bobcat stops in a field. — Bobcat, Point Reyes National Seashore

This bobcat was hunting gophers. Gophers are plentiful at Point Reyes, at least in the agricultural areas. They are an important food source for coyotes, bobcats, badgers and other predators at the Seashore. If this bobcat could talk he would probably say there is no such thing as too many gophers.