Carl Johnson

The beauty at our feet.

I regularly find myself being the only one stopping along a trail to observe what is transpiring on the forest floor. Hikers, bikers ... they are all in a hurry to get somewhere. But as a photographer, I feel compelled to explore what the forest floor has to offer. And while this slower pace may not get my heart pumping in a cardio way, it does in the joy and passion these subjects bring.

In the moment of photographing wildlife, sometimes you miss the details. Sure, you make sure that the eyes are in focus, that you have placed the animal where you want in the frame, or that there are no distracting elements. What I did not notice until I was processing this photo was how many MOSQUITOES there are in the air. The late evening sun perfectly lit them up. Fortunately, they were not bothering me where I was located on a nearby boardwalk. This bull moose had been browsing further up along the Seward Highway near the Potter Marsh Bird Sanctuary, then started moving closer to some alder near my location. I wish the highway wasn't in the background, but with urban moose, you take them where you can get them.

Photographed with a Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 180-600 f/5.6/6.3 mm lens.