It's all about the light

We all know how important the light is when it comes to getting an image with impact.  I was going through a few images from my Colorado trip this past fall.  These two were taken in the morning (about 7:30am) in Rocky Mountain National Park.  I would not have remembered that they are both of the same Elk bull, until I looked at the exif information and discovered that the images were taken about 1 minute apart.  The sun had not yet lifted itself over the mountains to the east when I took the first image, as you can barely see a shadow.  But by the next minute the bull was bounding over a nearby hill to chase away an intruding bugling bull on the other side, and as he reached the top his body picked up the early morning sun.  Your mileage may vary (especially since the first image seems slightly sharper) but to my thinking the second image has far more impact.

The light is better here (but admittedly the composition is too.)