December 12, 2010

Tule Elk, Tomales Point at Point Reyes


click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

Once in a while the United States government does something useful, like saving the Tule Elk from extinction.





click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

Now, I've got to tell you that being within close proximity to Tule Elk is a very rare experience.   And Tomales Point couldn't be any harder to drive to or be any more remote, so when you visit you've got a bit of an investment in the trip -- and if no Tule Elk are spotted, or they're way out of camera range, well, it's kind of a bummer...

Fortunately, if the Tule Elk aren't cooperating on the day you visit, there are other things to do at Tomales Point.   The historic Pierce Point Dairy is worth the trip on it's own -- nothing more fun than spooking around the outbuildings of a 150 year old dairy.   And McClure's beach, in my opinion is the ultimate beach destination in the Point Reyes area.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

Good luck getting this close -- I found myself driving very slowly through the herd -- of course if I had gotten out of my car they would have all spooked. I was using 200mm on a full-frame (no crop factor) Canon5D.

I had never realized how much Tule Elk resemble horses when viewed in profile.   Really beautiful animals; stoic and proud.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

And now that rutting season is over all the daddies, wannabe-daddies, and grand-daddies can get back together and talk in a civilized fashion about the more important things in life, like baseball.



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7 comments:

heph said...

beautiful photos

Marcie said...

Love that banner image - your point-of-view and framing.

Scott Law said...

Great shots and great post. I really enjoyed this one.

MELI. said...

what marcie said, and such a nice story to go t with it, they are so stunning +they do resemeble horses! =)))

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

Nice post. You got a 'wow' out of me for the banner shot. That's two 'wow's in a row. Well they're not Christmas gifts, you earned them. Well done.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful shots of these creatures. The one of the two males, with the racks, is stunning. Wish I had been there for this shoot.

Anonymous said...

Oops, forgot to include my name on my last post. maybe you figured it out, since I said that I wished that I had been there for the shoot.

Jan

 
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