A Sleepover!!!!
We hosted an unplanned sleepover last night - a Mama moose and her nearly full grown calf bedded down in our yard for the night. Tygey and I almost stumbled over the Mom as we headed out on our early morning constitutional. Mom was off to the side of the driveway and the calf was actually a bit further away - I admit we didn’t notice the calf until we returned.
The Mom was very calm - even when Tyge and I cluelessly puttered out first thing in the morning. So, I figured she was a perfect candidate for my first ever tripod shot in low light with my new camera. After Tyge finished up his morning walk and business items, I put him in the house and then grabbed my camera and tripod and headed back out to the driveway.
Well, it’s been years since I’ve shot with a tripod. I forgot all about the tricky business of adjusting the legs on an uneven surface and adjusting the height of the tripod so that your subject is actually in the frame. Fortunately, our moose was very patient. She hung out while I spent ten minutes fumbling with the tripod adjustment, camera angle, and the aperture setting. I am such a klutz. But anyhoo, after much fiddling about, I managed to get everything working. The shot isn’t bad - the light was actually quite low, so I’m pleased. However, I definitely need to spend some practice time with my tripod. Not every photo subject will be as patient as my moose.
Postscript: Our Moose ambled off about an hour after the photo shoot. We got a good look at her from the rear. Her belly was hanging low and wide - she’s massively pregnant. Looks like twins!!!!! I scurried out to try to get a pic. I couldn’t get a good one - the snow was too deep - I couldn’t maneuver to get a good angle. But if you peer closely at the rear end shot below, you can see that her belly is hanging low. She was definitely moving slowly up the hill. Moose calves aren’t born until June, so our poor Mom has awhile to go. As big as she is, maybe it’s triplets - somewhat uncommon in the moose world. But not unheard of….
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A most excellent shot. Very cool indeed.