Hello!
From 2018, I planned to go to the Dovre Mountains in Norway to make one of my dreams come true - to photograph musk oxen.
However, it wasn't until August 2021 that I decided to make my dream come true.
During the trip, I was constantly wondering whether it was better to hire a local guide who would help me track these beautiful giants or trust my luck and what was my surprise and at the same time a great joy when it turned out that after a short climb, literally a few hundred meters from me, I saw the first small herd musk oxen.
It should be remembered, however, that although these giants look quite heavy, they can run 60 km / h, and in the moment of danger, they do not run away, but attack, so you should keep a safe distance of 200m.
As an inexperienced-excited amateur, I lay down on the ground and focused only on shooting, forgetting about all precautionary rules, and when I was taking pictures of the herd in front of me,
I did not notice a giant male that came out from behind a rock behind my back at a distance of about 30m.
Maybe it's good that I didn't notice him behind me, because lying in my unconsciousnes , I didn't panic and kept taking pictures.
I realized the whole situation only when I saw a male out of the corner of my eye, who completely ignored me and slowly moved to my right side to join the herd. My heart was pounding terribly, but I think the fascination with such a close meeting overwhelmed my reason and it was only when I went downstairs to the car in the evening that I realized what could have happened.
Fortunately, I only came back with a full card of pictures and videos with musk oxen in the lead role.😀