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Just Curious! July 20, 2026 f/5.6 1/100 second |
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If you are reading this on your cell phone you can
probably double tap this box and it will fill your screen from
side to side, which will make it easier to read. You can double
tap again to zoom back out. The same is true of any of my
photos. Suddenly I see a bull moose standing directly in the middle of the trail, a mere 45 yards in front of me. I crave an impressive image, but my camera with it's heavy telephoto lens is over my shoulders and on my back, stowed away, where ironically it creates less stress on that same back. I need to retrieve it, but so far this year I haven't had much luck in this part of the forest. I have seen four moose, and everyone of them has spooked immediately at first sight. I have noticed that even deer always seem to disappear just as I reach into my pack for my camera, so today I try something different. As I slip my pack off my back, onto the ground, unzip the cover, and reach for my camera, I keep my eyes locked on the moose. Furthermore, to calm him, the words come softly from my lips, "You're not going to run away from me now, are you?" He stands his ground, still right there on the traveled portion of the trail, as I capture several great compositions. He walks toward me, slowly closing the distance between us. Now he is only twenty yards away, I shutter a couple of more wonderful images. Shouldn't I be clearing out, especially since his hackles, big and bushy, are standing up? I hold my ground. I don't believe he is agitated. I do have an escape route in case he gets too close, or his demeanor changes. I double check those three tree trunks just a few feet to my left. There is a lot of brush and the hill is steep, it is not perfect, but as a last resort I could protect myself behind those tree trunks. His temperament holds. Curiousity, that's what I see. He wants to know what I am doing behind this big tripod, why I have spoken softly to him, and why the shutter on my camera is making so much noise. He tilts his head the same way my dog did many years ago when I ended my song on a beautiful note, the same way years later that my rescued dove tilted his head on that very same note. Fully satisfied, he steps off the trail into the brush, working his way down the hill, nibbling as many leaves as he can along the way, leaving me exactly as he found me, save a little happier and generously enriched by the encounter. |