Afternoon Snack

I went out hiking in the woods the other day and came across this moose. When he first saw me he started to take off. It has been my experience that, if you make some non threatening noise like chirping or a soft whistling, a wild animal will sometimes stop out of curiosity. I did this and, after going a short distance, he turned to check me out. I gave him a little time to adjust to me being there and understand that I wasn't a threat to him. As I saw him relax, I slowly worked my way closer. Taking a small step or two at a time and snapping shots along the way. After about 45 minutes I was less than 20 feet from him!!! For those that have never seen a moose up close, they are HUGE animals. And, although they can look quite cute and harmless, they can be extremely dangerous. I have spent a huge amount of time in the mountains and forests of the West in my life and I know that these kinds of opportunities, in the wild, are quite rare. It was a great, exciting and sometimes, frightening day.

Your comments will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Bill

Louise, I cropped it down because it seemed too busy with all of the brush around him. It was a thick tangled mess and I was chest deep in it so, it wasn't practical to shoot portrait or I'd just end up with a blurry mess in the forground. And heck, I also shoot a Hasselblad so square is natural.. ;-)

I'll try to post some more in the next couple of days.

Thank you for your comments, Bill

Louise? My name is Knicki. Can I join in the conversation or is 2, too many people? ;)

wow on the finding a moose in the woods and it not hoofing it over and tagging you in the head.

I really like the eye contact you have in this.

Thanks Knicki ?!?, I don't know what happened to Louise's comment... REALLY, she WAS HERE!!! I appreciate your comments. It was really fun hanging out with him. I need to get a few more posted.

Take care, Bill