He Knew He Was Right

In past years, it is around this time that I would be pondering a long weekend camping trip to northern New Hampshire, with moose watching of course the prime objective. With the spotting success of a fully antlered bull discussed in one of my last posts, this post is about the far more frequently observed cow moose. Gangly, odd-looking beasts, I certainly wouldn’t make 400-miles trips to photograph them. Still, they have produced some interesting encounters, including one that gave me quite a scare... The reader should note that I respect animals and their space, the respect enabled in part because I have always had (even before the advent of digital zooms) sufficient telephoto equipment to lessen the space between me and my subject. Unfortunately, too many others crowd wildlife. I have seen it done to bear, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and, on one trip to Pittsburg, NH, I saw it done to a moose. Further, like many animals, mother moose are very protective of their young. So, when I...

Seeing moose on my first trip to northern New Hampshire didn’t make me think “ok, been there, done that”. No, I wanted to go back. The whole trip was my speed—the camping, the hiking, the fresh air, the scenery in general, the practicing of outdoor photography skills, and, of course those magnificent animals. Aside from the moose, the other things mentioned were doable nearby. What triggered my fascination with moose, though, escapes me. After seeing so much wildlife on trips through the Rockies, I suppose the bull moose did become something of a checklist item. A common misconception pegged me a “Northern Exposure” fan, but my only Hollywood association with moose is that great scene from “Shoot to Kill”, when Sidney Poitier’s city-dwelling character opens his cabin door and finds one at the entrance. Outdoor and wildlife photography magazines and books certainly featured captivating pictures of these beasts, and I think were prime motivators in that I was eager to replicate some of t...