This was a moment I will never forget! Seeing bears surrounded by salmon as they fish from an overlook spot is always incredible. For the most part, it is large males who dominate the good fishing holes. I was not expecting to see a mom and cub show up in this location. Once they did, the excitement was very high watching them swim, but mostly not together. The cub got tired of swimming, and went to mom to get a break and hold on to her back. The mom started swimming with the cub on the back, and as the fish surrounded them she dove at the fish!! Seeing a cub riding its mom’s back, from an elevated position, as she fished for salmon was a truly a once in a lifetime moment!

PURCHASE HERE

Salmon sockeye turn a bright red when they are in their spawning phase. Being so red helps the bears see them in the river. Most of the time when a bear catches a salmon, it turns and goes to shore a different way. This bear walked right toward me almost showing up the nice salmon it had caught!

PURCHASE HERE

Watching bears chase after salmon never gets old. The bears need the salmon to survive winter, and try to catch as many as they can. Some rivers are more shallow than others, and when they are, the fish sometimes come out of the water trying to escape from the bear. Salmon are very fast and agile, and this blonde bear charged hard for it as it tried to escape.

PURCHASE HERE

When a bear sees a river full of salmon, it can be hard for the bear to control its excitement. It knows it needs the salmon to survive winter, so sometimes being sneaky goes out the window. This bear ran a good ways through the river and jumped at these fish just as they realized he was there.

PURCHASE HERE

When mom goes out to fish for salmon, the cub often stays on the shore and watches. First year cubs do not know how to fish, and most of them hate water. This cub watched mom fish for a long time, but wanted to be closer to her. It was a cute moment watching the mom come back to the cub and the cub then walk between her legs!

PURCHASE HERE

It is every bears dream to have this much food so close! In Alaska, the salmon return each year to the rivers, and the bears know when they are coming. There are good and bad spots, of course, but this area is a great spot. This bear found it, and was so excited to be swimming surrounded by its food!

PURCHASE HERE

First year brown bear cubs are small, but when they are seen on a large open expanse they seem even smaller. This cub was curious of us, and left its mom to wander near us. It tried to act big, but even in doing that, it was still so small in the scale of the landscape.

PURCHASE HERE

Being out in the early morning is always exciting. I never know what the weather will be like or if their will be fog or clouds. On this morning there was a thick fog, and it was hard to see any animals. I went to the river and waited, and after a while this bear showed up. I was excited when it walked out into the river and the glow of the morning sun in the fog lit up behind him!

PURCHASE HERE

Cubs depend greatly on their mom for food. These cubs were 1.5 years old, but even then they still want mom to fish for them instead of fishing for themselves. It is funny, as the cubs were obviously surrounded by fish too, but either weren’t sure how to catch them or just wanted mom to catch one for them.

PURCHASE HERE

The northern lights are amazing every time I see them. I never know how they will appear that night, if they even appear. On this night I had seen some faint lights, but nothing too exciting. I changed locations, and shortly after the sky came to life! Looking straight up it was amazing to watch the lights move so fast, with so many colors, and have it look like they were coming from one spot!

PURCHASE HERE

This night was a night to remember for the northern lights! After a slow start to the night, the sky turned more and more red. Seeing red lights with my naked eye has only happened one other time, but on this night the whole sky was red! It was amazing seeing the sky turn red at night from the lights!

PURCHASE HERE

When the northern lights are showing off, it is something to see! It is rarely this colorful, or bright, but on this night it was amazing! Being in the forest and seeing the lights dance overhead vividly was a night I won’t forget! They were shooting straight up from the trees and the amount of colors at one time was amazing!

PURCHASE HERE

There are 5 different species of salmon, and they come in different colors and sizes. Silver salmon are one of the larger salmon, but not the largest. However, this wolf caught a large silver salmon and it made the wolf not look very big.

PURCHASE HERE

Just seeing one wolf fish for salmon is amazing to see. So seeing these three wolves all at the same time while fishing was incredible! At first they were kind of going after their own fish, but then they started working together and moving fish toward each other, and they were very successful in doing it this way.

PURCHASE HERE

Just seeing one wolf chasing after salmon is incredible. So seeing two wolves fishing at the same time was remarkable! One wolf had already caught a salmon, while the other wolf was still chasing after them.

PURCHASE HERE

Once I spotted the wolves, it was amazing to watch them fish for salmon. They had the river all to themselves for a long time. This large brown bear slowly came in, and the wolves didn’t seem to mind him being around. The bear also gave no mind to the wolves too. These wolves had been fishing solo, but came together and almost seemed to be working along with the bear! And seeing how small the 3 wolves looked when close to the bear made me realize just how big the bear was!

PURCHASE HERE

I was looking for wolves along this river for days before I finally spotted some. At first they were a long ways off, but slowly came down to fish. This wolf appeared to be an alpha, and was very aware of us. It kept watch as it let the other wolves fish for salmon.

PURCHASE HERE

Wolves are not seen fishing for salmon nearly as much as bears are. Wolves do hunt for salmon, but bears dominate most areas that people can access. Seeing this wolf chase after the salmon in an open river was so much fun!

PURCHASE HERE

It’s hard to describe just how small a pygmy owl is, until you see one. They are so small, you may not even realize you are looking at an owl. But they are a really neat owl, and a very good hunter. This owl looks like it is part of the tree it is so small, and that is what it hopes its prey is thinking too.

PURCHASE HERE

Finding a pygmy owl in a forest is very difficult. They are so small, they have to be close to be able to see them. The good news is, that they like to sit in tops of trees. This owl was patrolling a thick forest, but landed on this tree in an opening so it could see the meadow around it better.

PURCHASE HERE

There are very few times in my career where I’ve had an opportunity with a close wolf in a great position. This was one of those times! As it sat on this snow ledge, the dark sky behind it and the breath coming out of its nose made for a great shot of this wolf!

PURCHASE HERE

This bison was part of a herd that was getting harassed by this wolf pack. This bison had obviously had enough, and turned to charge the wolves. It was awesome watching this bison chase the wolves instead of getting chased by them.

PURCHASE HERE

From a distance I had picked out this wolf and really hoped it would come closer. It was a mostly white wolf, and very differently colored than the rest of its pack. When it turned and started coming down the river with pristine snow all around it, I couldn’t believe the shot I wanted was actually going to happen!

PURCHASR HERE

When the wolves started to chase the bison, the bison got in a tight formation for protection. They stayed in that tight formation even as the wolves were on their heels and pushing them. I like in this photo how you can see different wolves looking to see where they can get the bison herd separated.

PURCHASE HERE

On this morning, we watched the wolves slowly get closer and closer to the bison herd. The bison were aware they were around, but likely hoping they wouldn’t come any closer. When the wolves got too close for comfort, the bison got in a tight group and turned to face the wolves and see who would move first.

PURCHASE HERE

Photographing wolves takes lots of time. Wolves are skittish by nature, and it’s not often they come close. This wolf and its pack were on the hunt, and more focused on bison than they were me. It was incredible watching the wolf howl from the ridge to the rest of its pack, and see its breath, when it was -35 degrees out!

PURCHASE HERE

Grey wolves can come in many colors. When most people think of wolves, they think of them as only grey colored, but they can also be black and white. Black wolves are not uncommon, but a white wolf is rare unless you are in the high arctic. When this white and black wolf came together, it made for a neat photo to show just how different colors these wolves were!

PURCHASE HERE

This large white wolf was the alpha female of a pack in Yellowstone. She was in great health and very large. Seeing her up close and really seeing her size was impressive. Likely one of the largest wolves I have seen close up!

PURCHASE HERE

One of my favorite animals to photograph in winter is the red fox. Their coats are so pretty and full in the winter. In this open forest, it was a fun surprise to find this fox sitting between the trees. It sat there for a while, before getting up and moving on.

PURCHASE HERE

As the wolves started to walk down the frozen river, I got more and more excited as more wolves appeared! The river was such a great place for them to travel on because it had shallow snow. Seeing these 6 wolves walking my direction was a thrill!

PURCHASE HERE

Bison are an iconic animal of Yellowstone. It never gets old watching them in the wild. On a bright afternoon, this herd was slowly making its way across the valley. They were following the path of the leader to avoid the deep snow, and the line and their shadows made for a great shot!

PURCHASE HERE

After a while of the bison holding their ground, one nervous bison left the group and started running. The other bison then got nervous and started running too. This excited the wolves and the chase was now on.

PURCHASE HERE