These 1st two pics are the same shot...things can change.


One of the local girls.




My ride out.

These were all taken during the Alaska 2005 season, except for the grizzly, taken in 2004 season in the same area.

Joe

quote:

When is the vote for the winner?

-Ben Morris

Ben,

I was thinking of keeping it open for a couple months at least, then doing the vote. The winners picture would be the new banner for the forum, and they'd get an AR hat/t-shirt, or something like that. Then I thought I might do it again for 2006 pictures and keep it open until the New Year.

We are getting some great entries! Keep it up guys!

Cheers,
Canuck

Canuck, I wish you luck in deciding on a winner, even to this point. Wonderful shots guys! What country!

This kind of posting just makes me want to hit the hills. There are some great shots and Canuck is going to have a tough time picking a winner here. They all look like winners to me.
Stories about the hunts would be fun also.

Joe,

Neato pix of the float plane. Kudos! -TONY

Outdoor Writer,

Thank you Tony....

Joe

quote:

There are some great shots and Canuck is going to have a tough time picking a winner here. They all look like winners to me.

Actually, it will be easy, for me anyway. I will set up a poll and the members will vote on it.

I agree that the choices are going to be tough though! There are some great pics here!

Stu,

The moon shot was taken with a 600mm telephoto from about 100 yards away from the guy walking on the ridge. I actually set that up where we were camped on the North Kaibab in AZ.

He had killed the little 4-pt. the day before, so I tied it on to my packframe and had him walk the ridge in the right spot after I framed it in the camera just right.

The 600mm makes the moon huge while at the same time foreshortening the distances between everything. You've probably seen the same effect where a line of telephone poles look like they're only inches apart when shot with a telephoto lens. A company in SLC, UT used it on a Xmas card one year.

The 2nd pix was taken with a 24mm WA next to our camp in the NWT. Again, it was something I set up when I saw the fabulous sky. Really had to hustle before it went away, too. -TONY

Tony,
Thanks for the info. A 600mm telephoto is a little out of my league

- stu

Stu,

I hear ya.

But a wildlife photographer without a big tele is like a carpenter without a hammer. It makes a big difference when one is earning a living with a monster lens and can write it off, but the damn things are still too expensive.

Here a a couple from my sheep hunt last year.

Here a few for all my Kiwi brothers out there.. While I was over there in 2001 guiding, we got a few hunts in for ourselves as well. We decided to give a go on a station near Mt Cook for Bull Tahr. The price for the hunt... a bottle of Johnny walker Red Scotch to the sheep station owner!!
We didn't want to do it the lazy man's way, so we packed the frames and headed up. I learned that the Kiwi hunters repect a hard earned trophy that was taken on its own terms way more than a super sized one that was taken with choppers and such.
We did 4 days up there and I must say, it is THE fondest hunting memory I have We hiked 15 miles into the mts but it felt like, and was, paradise.. I took two 11" bulls on that trip...

Here are a few pics from Tahr camp in NZ..
This me being woke up by the flash of the camera.. No tents..we just slept in the rocks under the stars with the Tahr!!

thats me on the left..

me on a rock with Mt Cook in the distance.. God, I miss that place!!

And here I am glassing for the big bulls..

And here is one from another backpack hunt we did on the west side of the Southern Alps for Chamois and Tahr as well.. this hunt was way different than the other tahr hunt. Lots of rain, colder, and not to mention I fell 35 feet off a damned cliff, damned near died, and had to be air lifted out of the Mtns after 4 days of waiting in pure agony by Medivac to Christchurch and spend 9 days in the hospital ( dislocated hip, fracured pelvis, broken ankle, 35 stiches, you get the picture!)!!! But by Golly, I got that Chamois!! And I did it the right way.. on foot!!! Made the best shot I've ever made that hunt too.. 419 yrds across a deep canyon.
Every time I look at that chamois mount in my home now, I smile and think back to laying in that tent, in pain like I've never felt before, but smiling my ass off every time I looked over there and saw those cape and horns laying beside me in the tent! Those Southern Alps aren't soft!!


Thanks for lookin...

Scotty: you worked in New Zealand as a hunting guide?


Respect for going out there on foot instead of heli!

Scotty,
Great pics and great story. What months were those hunts? Weather?
Thanks,
- stu

Thanks guys.. The first hunt we did was the tahr hunt on the east side of the Alps.. it was in mid April 2001. Great weather and clear skys.. The bulls weren't in their best capes quite yet, but it was still an awesome hunt..
The second hunt was a Chamois/Tahr hunt.. it was in mid May on the west side of the Mtns.. Cold, wet, etc.. The tahr were in full capes by then, and the chamois were fully black too. It I hadn't of fallen, there was a good chance at a great tahr in that country. Luckily, I got the Chamois before I took the stumble..
I'll scan a few more pics from the 1st tahr trip and post them ASAP...

S.E. Alaska Mt Goat Hunting...

Very nice Brian! Thanks for re-jeuvenating the thread, too!

Cheers,
Canuck

Sorry to interrupt your contest guys, but I just took quite awhile looking at the photos submitted here and they are just awe inspiring.

Breath taking reminders of the miracles of nature and the beauty that exists on this earth.

Thank you for sharing

Lynn D

OK guys and gals,

The prize for this contest will be a package a Saeed's hunting DVD's, the Champions DVD (all of the clips of people shooting the 577 T-Rex) and some AR patches. Of course, the prize will also be to satisfy the original intent of this thread, which is to display the winning pic as the new banner for the forum!

I intend to cut off the entries for the contest on Friday evening. On Saturday I will post a selection of the top entries for voting by the membership here. The voting will run for three days, then we will declare a winner.

SO GET YOUR LAST MINUTE ENTRIES IN RIGHT AWAY!!!

Cheers,
Canuck

ps: Once this contest is over, I think I will start a new thread for 2006 Photo Contest entries that will run until the end of the year. I will try and come up with a few prizes for that as well.

Scottyboy...your pictures aren't showing up anymore. Could you refresh the links please, so I can transfer them to the voting thread?

Cheers,
Canuck

Yep... I'll get them put back on ASAP...