Club digital "salon" entries for December

These are my digital entries for my photo club's December digital salon. 

The elk was an early morning shot in Rocky Mountain National Park.  The lighting isn't particularly great, but I did get this bull to look up from his munching.  It was past sunrise when I took the picture, but because this meadow was in a valley surrounded by mountains, the sun had not yet risen high enough to flood the valley with light.

The seagull shot is along the coast of Maine.  It's not the most noble of birds, but I like the exposure here and the piercing yellow eye staring at me.  The salt covered chains bring a little of the environment into the image.



The butterfly was taken in a nearby butterfly house. I don't really like the deep shadows under the wings, but I do like the angle I had of the butterfly resting symmetrically on the single green leaf.