Fall In Cumberland County...

In the last couple of weeks I have driven around Cumberland County numerous times with the intent to photograph fall colors. There had to be many beautiful locations out there but either I didn't find them or just didn't have a creative eye for it. I did get one that I liked very much, this was taken last Monday in Penn Township just off Route 174. Each year I say I am going to photograph the fall colors, this year I really made an effort maybe next year will be the year. By the way I went past here earlier in the week and the leaves are all off the trees and the corn has been picked making it look nothing like ti does in this photograph.

You Pick The Title...

Not only can I come up with nothing to say in the post I could not even come up with a title for today's post. Just a mallard giving me something to photograph recently at Wildwood Lake in Harrisburg.

Hey it is Thursday, visit Shane's blog for a new post.

Elk Cows...

To many Elk posts leaves me speechless. I do not know if it is the same cow but they were both taken the same day in the same area, one in the morning and the other in the evening. Not to worry I will switch things up on Thursday and post something other than Elk, maybe.

My post are normally scheduled post often uploaded an completed as many as two to three weeks in advance. This one was no different, but after reading the Pa. Wildlife Photographer (Willard's site) last evening I felt the need to update this post. The Elk hunting season is underway in Pennsylvania and I will not take information from his post and copy it here but I will ask you to click the link and visit his site for additional information. I will say that unconfirmed reports are that the large 8X9 bull featured in the November 2 post and the header for this site was taken during the hunt. I spent enough time around these beautiful animals during the rut and this guy in particular to know that he was not scared of humans and was acclimated to people. He would not have posed a sport to shoot no matter what the story ends up being. I want everyone to know that I am not against hunting and hunted for years along with many members of my family. But somehow shooting one of the Elk that is acclimated to people and spends his time around the town of Benezette possible being hand fed from time to time is no different than shooting the neighbors dog as he is chained to his dog house and mounting his head on the wall. It is just not a sport and needs to change.

My son and I had planned a December trip back to photograph the Elk in the snow. Unfortunately he will not get to enjoy this great animal the way I and so many others did. You know some people just really piss me off.

I Have Grass On My Head...

By now you should have guessed that there would be more Elk post. If you want to see something else contribute money to my get away and take other photos fund drive. Actually there is not a fund drive yet, but I can start one if anyone wants to donate. Lets see I would like to go to Canada, back to Alaska and Yellowstone, Maine and I could go on but I don't think it will help.

The top photo seems to warm for me but it was shot late evening with the sun coming right over my shoulder and everything was glowing gold that evening so it really is what we were seeing. With the golden yellow colors I did not know how to post process it. I kept going back and changing it over and over again until I got to the point that I felt happy with it. Of course now that I look at it I am not happy with it and felt I made it worse. Now I do not know if it looks green or yellow, I just know it is messed up. The video last 32 seconds and shows a calf eating while the cow grooms it, there is the occasional bugling in the background. If it looks a little strange it is because it was shot in fairly dense fog the last morning I was there.

It is Tuesday so don't forget to visit Shane's site for a new post.

The Largest Bull We Seen...

This was the largest bull we seen during the rut in Benezette. This guy was an 8X9 and appeared to be the most dominant bull and had the largest herd of cows during the rut. For me he was not the most attractive bull there, my vote would go to the old one I featured on a video a couple of weeks ago with the tired bugle. If this guy looks familiar, check the new blog header I put up last Sunday.

Can you believe it is November already, where does the time go. We will soon be Christmas shopping and starting another new year.

Fall In South Central Pennsylvania...

I set out the other week to photograph some fall colors, in doing so I learned one very important thing. Don't quit my day job. I live in a beautiful area and could not visualize any images, I apparently have no creative abilities. But then I already knew that. The first photo is a view of Huntsdale, Pa. from the top of Kings Gap, click the photograph for a much larger view.

On a side note today is my 600Th post, it is hard to believe I have been doing this blog that long.

The Hartford Stag...

Same bull again even taken the same day as yesterdays post except they caught my eye for a different reason. Some of you may have heard of Hartford Insurance. As a child growing up in the fire service they were big in making children's fire helmets with their logo on the front piece. It was always a large bull Elk. I had many different ones as a child and must have thrown them all in the trash at sometime. Now I wish I would have kept them. The first photos reminds me of them.

It's not clear exactly when the elk first appeared as the company’s logo. The oldest on record is the one that appears on the 1861 policy issued to Abraham Lincoln. The Elk logo changed numerous times over the years but they still use and Elk as there symbol today. In the company the stag is referred to as "Larry." The nickname comes from the name of the actual stag used in a series of television commercials: Lawrence. Lawrence first showed up in 1974, he was an impressive animal at ten-feet tall (hoof to antler tips), five hundred pound elk with eight point antlers and thick reddish coat. Beginning in the early 2000s, television commercials use a computer-generated stag, not a live animal.

I just like the second photograph with little of the bull Elk showing over the mountainside as he bugles.

It is Thursday so please visit Shane's blog for a new post.

Same Bull, Different Poses...

Wow! after all the Elk post from Benezette during the rut it is getting harder and harder to come up with something to type. This is the same bull taken the same morning just different poses and different backgrounds. Most of what I had been posting were close up shots but I came across these in my files that included some of the background and I was drawn to them so here they are.

For most people it is over the hump day but for me it is a Monday and the start of my work week. Four more days and I get another four day break, I can't wait.

Mason Hill Whitetails...

Like the Ruffed Grouse from last week, these are not the best of photographs but I wanted to post something other that Elk again today. Also like the Ruffed Grouse, these were taken while on Mason Hill Road but on the way up the hill. I had high expectation of seeing many whitetails and turkeys during my trip north for the Elk rut. Of course I only seen one flock of turkeys and a few whitetail does. On the bright side the Elk watching was pretty good. Before I forget this is Tuesday and that means visit Shane's blog for a new post.

More From My Walk...

These are a couple more shots from the walk I took a couple of weeks ago. I had to look these birds up so if I do not identify them correctly please let me know. I think the first bird is an American Wigeon and the second bird a male Common Loon.

I guess I should have expected the numbers to drop I just hoped they wouldn't. After I posted the photos of the Elk stuck in the swing set from Benezette in August my hits on this site were far higher than I would have ever expected. I watched the views begin to drop a couple of weeks after the post until they finally got back to what they were before. It was fun while it lasted. I guess I need to go out and find something strange again to drum up more traffic.