With the Canon R5, Animal Eye AutoFocus, I could lock onto one of Alice White’s leaders as they burst through the starting chute in freshly falling snow. Homer and Wizard take center stage in this John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon photo.
Wind Swept Ridge
They were three to four miles away, and the blowing snow added a little something to the mix. I had taken a couple of pictures of this wolf pack earlier in the day and went back to try to find them in the evening light. Evening light in Lamar Valley is some of the prettiest in the park. It often reminds me of the incredible light in a Tim Burton movie, almost surreal. This year, no other scene has topped watching the Junction Butte pack of wolves move across three ridge lines during the day’s last light.
As Tom took his solo canoe out to fill up the water jugs, I quickly got down on the rocky shore and dipped the camera into the lake to create this eye-level view of him paddling by.
Purple Haze
Shortly before sunset, while photographing sunflowers along the gravel road in Sax-Zim Bog, I noticed smoke from the Greenwood Fire beginning to settle in the ditch behind the flowers. Kneeling on the ground, I was not picking up the beautiful hazy background the smoke was creating. The scene only came together while photographing it from above, so I hopped back in my car and made this image through the open window.
Rose’s Aurora
Shortly before sunrise, I had the opportunity to watch the northern lights dance with my neighbors. That part is not unusual – everyone loves to be out when the sky lights up. This morning, Rose, 82 years young, witnessed the aurora for the very first time. She almost stopped giggling long enough for me to make a clean image. It’s close; the slight movement adds to the experience, in my opinion.
The series “Mom’s Day Out” needs at least three images to create the scene. This grizzly’s cubs took full advantage of the time they got to play with her. When she wasn’t chasing up the hill to find them, she was sliding in the thick fresh snow right alongside them. They’d climb on her, and she’d roll over on them. It was a scene to remember.
