Notes From the Field
Steve Kossack is an accomplished photographer, writer and workshop instructor. I first met Steve after he purchased one of our Ultimate Ballheads and wrote an article about it for the Luminous Landscape website. We have since become friends.
Although Steve is no longer affiliated with Luminous Landscape, his workshops continue to be popular. I am excited to be able to provide Acratech web site viewers the opportunity to read Steve’s new monthly column Notes From the Field.
Check out Steve's website to find information about his workshops at
http://www.f-8andbethere.com/workshops/workshops.htm
Moose in the morning
From the fall of 2003 in the Canadian Rockies on a cool morning at dawn. This image is a personal favorite for many reasons. As in many situations, unforeseen circumstances can change the entire scope and direction of a shoot. This one started out to be a sunrise with the moon setting over Medicine Lake near Jasper National Park.
The area had been scouted the day before and there was not much thought involved other than the idea to do what had been a very productive sunset shoot the night before, again for sunrise.
I'm not much of a wildlife photographer. It's an art that I don't seem to have the patience or the will for. Some will wait behind blinds in the cold, heat, wet or dry landscape for hours or days for images of wildlife. While I do admire the determination and art that comes from this, it's just not something that intrigues me. I am more than willing to witness wild creatures but my photography seems to focus more on their habitat.
I am interested in the animal in the landscape but the animal itself seems to represent a zoo situation unless somehow shown IN the landscape. It's a very difficult thought to convey photographically.  I've often joked that I'd need an animal to walk into my landscape shot to make it work. I was sure this would be the only way it cold be done for me. Well, this is pretty much how it this image happend!
Setting up in the pre-dawn darkness there was some elevation between the shooting position and the lake below. The reflection was not yet visible in the darkness and the mountain range was just a silhouette in the distance at this point.
I began making an exposure, as is my practice, as soon as I can get a 30 second reading at f/4. Ive found from years of experience that I like the color shifts that occurred with film and more so the lack of contrast and shadow that result from low light situations. It's another of my "you never know" photographic situations that I like so well! I've always said that the only thing I know for sure about photography is that if you don't open the shutter you get no images :-)
Working the dawn light I was conscious of noise coming from below but it was only a passing thought. I dismissed the thought of a bear because I could see for quite a distance in that direction and did not feel threatened. The light began to improve and showed light clouds on the horizon. I began the hope of reflected light both from the sky and the water. Exposures continued to be in the 15 to 30 second range but I had already moved from ISO 400 to a more comfortable ISO 100 and was nearing an ideal aperture of f/8. I continued to watch, between exposures for the source of the noise to my left from down below. 
As the sky began to brighten it also started to presented contrast problems. Still holding an exposure for both I began to consider the possibilities and was now able to make out the source of the concern in the brush below. A moose and calf were grazing and starting to make their way toward our shooting position. I've been told many stories through the years about behavior of moose but have no first hand experience. What has been my experience is that in general people are far more dangerous in most situations than animals have ever been. Humans seem to look for trouble, animals fear humans and unless threatened, usually avoid them. Maybe it was this obscure thinking or the beautiful dawn light that was now visible in my view finder that took me back to the scene at hand instead of being concerned. I placed a graduated neutral density filter on my Canon 24-70 2.8L and continued to shoot.
There comes a moment when you KNOW that the light is right. Sometimes it seems like it will last forever and sometimes it's just the moment that the shutter is open, but we know when we see it. As we headed into this prime time the moose and calf seem to know this too! Like actors in a staged play, they entered from stage left, staying in front of our line of tripods and slowly crossed directly in front of us!
The moose and her calf stopped a couple of time but the angle was never just right. Then began this insane dance of photographers. Once our stars of the show passed, we then picked up the tripod mounted gear and hopped our way to the end of the line in the direction they were traveling as to set up another shot. I think I did this at least twice.
I had begun my image as they entered at f/11 at about 1 second. I was bracketing not only because it was a difficult exposure but also due to the use of the split ND filter. Before the moose and calf I had lots of options. I didn't any more ... and not much time to think about it either!
There was a thought about going back to ISO 400 or even more thinking that maybe even a slight movement (times two) might ruin a frame. I didn't. There was a thought about ripping the split ND from the lens to give me a better chance at a good exposure for the moose and forgetting about the light of the sky. I didn't.
 What I did do was go quickly from f/11 to f/16 thinking I would have more depth of field remembering my previous thinking about landscape first. I needed the image first and not just a shoot of the moose. If my landscape image was good, I'd deal with the rest later. I had just one more element to deal with and it was a heart stopper!
The corresponding shutter speed was a full second! Should I rethink? I didn't have time! I was not using a cable release, instead I had set my mirror lock up to coincide with the self timer at 2 seconds. This way the mirror locks up with the push of the shutter and 2 seconds later the shutter is released. It's a perfect set up if you are not concerned with the actual instant of shutter release. BUT I WAS!
Now some things in life take an instant and last forever. Some take forever and last an instant. The way I remember this one, it was both! Moose and calf taking two steps in my direction came to rest in the position shown in the top image. They were no more than 5 to 7 feet from me! My recollection is that I was at about 35MM focal length. I then pushed the shutter, slowly leaned over the camera a bit, spread my arms slightly and quietly said to them "hold it" as a seemingly very loud shutter first went slamming open and then was followed a full second later (it seemed much longer at the time .. like in forever) slammed even louder shut!
I could think of nothing else to do at this point other than to do what I did next. I repeated the process with an even more pronounced arm spread and "hold it". When the shutter once again slammed shut, as if on queue now, both calf and mother picked up their heads and walked stage right and into history. I remember only remarking, "what happened?" I have two frames and they are identical. There is absolutely no movement in either. 
Of course we all photograph to have a record of a scene. A recorded memory. We all hope just as much for something more. I'm happy to think that I have both. I'm just as happy to have the recorded memory of the story as much as the image that resulted. I don't think you'd believe the story without the image. I wouldn't either!
Other images from the Singh-Ray Gallery
See my images in the Singh-Ray Gallery
Archived Notes From the Field
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