On my first "photo only" trip I went to Wells Gray in British Columbia, where I came across this elk. Judging from the size of his antlers, it was probably late June (I didn't keep good records the first couple of years and it was before digital). Male elk start growing their antlers in the March/April timeframe. They grow very rapidly. In general age determines how big they get. As they grow the antlers are covered in "velvet." During this time male elk must be careful not to cut or bruise the velvet. That makes male elk a little easier to get close to and a little easier to photograph, -- that's if you can find them, of course. The challenge for the wildlife photographer is to get a "open shot." This guy was deep in the woods. I probably took two rolls of film to get this photo. But, I really didn't know what I had until I got home and developed the film. What made this photo even more special, was the tongue. Although it was one of my first wildlife photos, it is still one of my favorite elk photos today.
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