The last time I photographed my son's elk herd all of the bull's antlers were nothing more than stubs on the tops of their heads. Yesterday was different. The tops of their heads had turned into majestic works of art and according to my son it hadn't taken too long to happen. The antlers were covered in a soft peach fuzz. Yes I actually touched it. There was a particularly friendly bull that came over to the fence and allowed my to pet him as he sniffed my scent. I found the fuzz to be much softer than the wiry fur covering the rest of his body. The other marvelous thing that had happened in the last month was the birth of two elk calves. I found one huddled in a patch of sage as if to protect herself from predators - well maybe she was just enjoying what little shade she could find. I used a Mavic 3 drone to capture the elk from overhead. They weren't bothered by the drone and showed little more than occasional curiosity as can be seen in the image of the elk looking up at it as I triggered the shutter.  I shot early in the morning to capture their shadows, adding some drama to the photographs. The "on the ground" shots were taken with my Canon EOS R5 in combination with a Canon RF 100-500. I hand held the camera as I wandered inside the fencing. It's combination of in-body and lens stabilization makes for steady photographs. I was just fun seeing the beginning of my son's long time dream coming to fruition.

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