We wake up each day very early…. before the stars have faded from the sky, before the sun has started to climb into the sky and before the cars are on the streets. It is a very peaceful time of the day and the wildlife think so, too. All our camera equipment is prepared, batteries have been charged from the day before and all our images have been downloaded from our memory cards into our computer. It is a new day and always a special day as no 2 days are exactly the same for us… for we are wildlife photographers. And, you never know what joys and disappointments will be forthcoming in the day ahead. Wildlife photography is something like a treasure hunt for almost everyone, except for the experienced wildlife photographer and tracker. Once you start thinking like wildlife and understanding wildlife, you will experience more wildlife.
 
This is the time of the year when the largest number of visitors come to Estes Park. It is also a very beautiful time of the year. The Elk are returning from higher and cooler areas of RMNP to lower elevations. The Rut has begun and the visitors want to see these magnificent animals.
 
We would like to ask everyone to be as respectful as possible to the animals, obey the RMNP Rangers, read all the posted signs and try not to infringe on the Elk’s needed space. How would you like thousands of people surrounding your home and peeking into all your windows? It would not be a very comfortable feeling! The land is the Elk’s home. If you have a small digital camera (100mm), please realize that your camera will not zoom in too close. Please don’t try to approach these large animals as that is why they are called “Wildlife”. At any time, they could decide that they have had enough of the harassment due to the crowds or because they see you as a threat to their “harem”. They could trample anyone that they want to. And… there is no way you can outrun an Elk. This is not a zoo.
 
We grab a muffin, our daily soda (we know it’s not the best for you in the morning, but we are not coffee drinkers) and our camera equipment… and out the door for another invigorating day. We know where the herd might be located and we are on our way. We are excited and hopeful that this will be another great day, for this is one of the reasons we built our home in Estes Park. It is because of the abundant wildlife.
 
Wildlife are like people. They can sense whether or not you are friendly, you have an agenda, you are a threat, etc. And based on their perception, they will either let you into their circle or they won’t. We have had many amazing experiences where wildlife has approached us to within 10 feet or so, knowing that they can trust us. This comes from many years of experience. We are NOT advocating approaching wildlife at all. We always keep a very safe distance between ourselves and wildlife and you should, too.
 
Today would be different. After spending hours in RMNP, the crowds of visitors arrive. One car stops and within 10 minutes, there are 25 cars that have stopped. The Elk are surrounded by people and cameras. We politely say to some of the people to please keep their distance from the animals. Some of the people understand and some of the people don’t. But, we must keep the message alive. Some people don’t realize the possibility of being hurt and they thank us for the knowledge.
 
The Elk move on and the caravan of cars take off. But this day would be different as we know the route that the Elk have taken. We are the last car to leave and we head out to one of our secret trails in RMNP. We park our car and start hiking. In about 15 minutes, we find the Elk again. Some of the herd have seen us before, so they keep on eating, knowing that we are their friends. On the other side of us is a herd of deer. They pick up their heads and then keep eating, too. We are in the middle of this wonderful experience.
 
We sit down and enjoy the day…. not even having to photograph. About an hour later, all the Elk are resting and the herd of deer have moved on. We say goodbye until another day.
 
Commentary From Philip: A couple of days ago, a herd of 20-25 Elk was being viewed and photographed. The bull Elk and the harem repeatedly tried to cross the road. If you watch wildlife long enough, you will see when wildlife are out of baseline. In this case, four photographers were too close and the Elk kept coming to the road and backing off. After 15 minutes, I went over to the photographers and politely said “Do you realize that the reason the Elk are not crossing the road is because you are too close to them?” The photographers did not take my suggestion very pleasantly and if they were real wildlife photographers, THEY WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN WHERE THEY WERE! When a photograph becomes more important than the well-being of wildlife, then it is WRONG! Wildlife is for viewing and photography is a distant second. The Bull Elk finally crossed the road with only 3 Elk left in his harem. Nature had been disrupted by these photographers for a photograph.
 
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