Wildlife Photography No-No’s | East Texas Based Travel Photographer

Okay, so the plan was to debut one of the last two stops today. But … a month after returning home, I’m still editing those images in between nasty sinus headaches and client sessions.

So … until then, a wildlife photography lesson sneak peeking some of the images from Rocky Mountain National Park …

I was minding my own business, photographing this absolutely beautiful landscape with a wide angle lens I’d rented when two things were brought to my attention … #1 — the elk herd and #2 — the idiot standing only about 50 feet from them.

I quickly swapped back to the other lens in my bag (my 28-75 mm lens — I’d left the 135 mm lens in the car) to capture idiocy in action.

Never ever ever go this close to wildlife — even in a national park — unless the title Park Ranger and the salary that goes along with it is in your job description or you have one escorting you.

I was a good 150 or so yards from my vehicle — along the marked trail/road for park visitors (leading to some cabins), and had they taken off in my direction, I *might* have been able to sprint back to the car in time had I cut across to the parking area. Key word is *might*. This dude — he would have been stomped right into that park employees dirt road he was standing on if they’d been spooked and taken off.

This shot was taken from the gate with a sign that — in a nutshell — said “only park officials past this point” … My life and the $4000 + worth of camera gear on my person at that particular moment just isn’t worth ignoring federal park signs to get *the shot* …

… and next time, along with renting a wide angle lens, I’m renting the 70-200 lens so I can get the shot he wanted without risking my life

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