Making unique portraits is becoming increasingly difficult to do and as a result photographers are forced to think outside the box to come up with something fresh.
The shoot took a team of assistants, one whose job was to keep the elk interested in paying attention by feeding it continuously. There is always an inherent risk of injury when working with animals, but Gardner and his crew handled the animals with caution resulting in a safe and exciting photoshoot.
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nice rack!
For the love of god. He got a naked woman to crawl up on the back of a wild animal and all you can talk about is what he called the darn thing.
Unfortunatelly I cannot admit it’s an exceptionally good photograph.
The lighting scheme does not create any contra-punctual tension between object (theme) and the background. It’s pretty much flat and artificial.
Also the model’s pose is neither relaxed nor sensual.
To compare it with a better example, look here: http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/lady-godiva-john-collier.jpg
I’ve heard folks in northern Europe refer to Moose as elk…
In Europe (see license plate) what North Americans call moose are called elk. Eurasian Elk. Just like pronghorn were called antelope by European settlers that came to American many NA animals were given different names.
What is considered a moose in North America is called an elk in Europe. What are called elk in North America are also called wapiti, most closely resembling red deer in Europe.
Mike.
While everyone may or may not appreciate the artistic value of the photoshoot, I think we should all take a step back from the moose/elk argument. All moose are elk. Some elk are moose. It’s a matter of terminology. Yes, North American Elk are different from moose, but in Great Britain and Europe, a moose is called an elk.
Denver Mike, it’s funny that you and Mike Penney climbed up on your high horses before bothering to study English as spoken by its inventors, the English. In British English they don’t call them Moose, because that word was borrowed from the Native Americans by the Yankees a continent away long after the English had named them Elk. Elk is the correct word in England, and even the official name for the subspecies that live in that part of the world. In addition, the scientific name, Alces Alces is cognate with Elk (ALC = ELK) So, as usual with uneducated country folk like Mike Penney, you have shown that your lack of understand that there are regional differences in the way English is spoken and not everyone has to talk in your backwoods hillbilly dialect, and that city folk with educations actually understand these things.
Awesome photos, love the mossy floor and the rays of light. The lady and moose are an interesting subject.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose
Aka elk.
Oh, for God’s sake, you pedants…in Europe, Moose are generally known as Elk.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose
Oh my…. beautiful image. Extremely dangerous for everyone involved. Moose are one of the most likely wild animals to harm people. Obviously these had been hand fed – but still wild in nature is still WILD. It is rather embarrassing you kept referring to the animal as an elk.
An elephant and a giraffe have about as much in common as a moose and an elk. You city boys should probably get the illustrated kids animal book out before writing about things you know nothing about.
So back to the photography… It’s a lot of work…. the photo is technically nice…. But why? I can’t see the commercial value or artistic value here… Help us understand.
Because why you make photos is at least as important as how.
Everyone has mentioned the obvious — the model is atop a Moose, not an Elk. That error is the equivalent of calling a horse a cow. That error does not inspire confidence in the quality of Your Work, Your Research, or Your Writing Ability. If English is not your first language, then I commend you on your reasonable command of it, though that doesn’t relieve you of the responsibility for correctly identifying animals.
It’s a moose!
If that’s an Elk, the model is a man.
When I was younger, we had an expression of appreciation for the female form: “Tits like a moose.” Oddly, that seems relevant here.
That is a moose!
Looks more like a moose than an elk.