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

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

One of the smallest owls is the pygmy owl. It is only 6 inches tall, and very hard to find. About the only way to find them is when they are sitting on top of a tree. On this evening I was actually looking for pygmy’s, when I spotted this owl. It was not on this tree originally, but it was great when it landed on the top of the tree, as the last light of the day was lighting it up!

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

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

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

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

This wolf was following its pack and traveling in the short snow along the river. The pack was not all together and very spread out. This wolf looked back to see where its pack mates were and had a nice shadow on the snow as it looked back.

PURCHASE HERE

On this morning, it was very cold. It was -35 degrees out, but the wolves sure didn’t seem to care. My hands cared, but with such great wolf action, it was hard to take the time and warm them up. This black wolf was frosty because its breath was freezing to its fur as it moved across the frozen ground.

PURCHASE HERE

On a beautiful morning, this black wolf was traveling a river with its pack. This was the lead wolf, and it was ready to keep moving. However, its pack mates were not, so it stopped and turned and looked at them and waited for them to catch up.

PURCHASE HERE

All wolves are special, but white wolves are particularly special because I don’t see them very much at all. When this white wolf started moving my way down the river, I hoped it would keep coming and not turn and go somewhere else. The white wolf did come close and was on a steady jog as it traversed the snowy landscape.

PURCHASE HERE

Seeing wolves chase after a herd of bison at a range close enough to photograph was always something I hoped I’d get to see. However, it rarely happens close enough to see and photograph. So when it happened on this day, it was amazing to watch the wolves work as a pack and chase down these bison.

PURCHASE HERE

On this afternoon we were watching a wolf pack off in the distance. We were just waiting to see where they would go, when all of a sudden someone noticed this wolf on the ridge behind us! This wolf had been chasing a coyote, but stopped and checked us out before continuing on its way.

PURCHASE HERE

Brown bears run many different directions while chasing salmon, and its hard to know where they will go, because they follow the fish. When a fish leads a bear my direction, it gets very exciting. This large brown bear showed off its large claws as it dove at the salmon right in front of me!

PURCHASE HERE

When there are multiple cubs, those cubs will play with each other a lot. Many moms of multiple cubs don’t play lots with their cubs, because the cubs entertain themselves. These cubs were playing, but this mom wanted in on the fun and started pushing the cubs around. It was so fun watching her interact and play with the cubs!

PURCHASE HERE

Many Alaskan morning are cloudy and foggy. You get used to that being the norm. So when I headed out on this morning, it looked like a typical morning. Slowly, a few breaks in the clouds appeared, and finally one happened in front of the sun in my direction and lit up this brown bear and made him look like he was king of the area!

PURCHASE HERE

Brown bears go all out chasing salmon. But salmon are not easy to catch as they are very fast and change directions quickly. This bear was closing in on a salmon when it changed directions suddenly, and this bear had to make a hard right to keep up with the fish.

PURCHASE HERE

There is nothing like salmon to a brown bear. They know salmon are what sustain their life and help them make it through hibernation. Once this bear was close to the salmon, it puts its claws out to make sure there was no way the fish could escape.

PURCHASE HERE

My favorite time of year to photograph brown bears is when the salmon are running. The bears just get so excited and its always impressive watching them run through the water so effortlessly. This large male ran by us without even knowing we were there because he was so focused on the salmon.

PURCHASE HERE

Most animals are active early in the morning, and brown bears are no exception to that. Getting up early is not always the easiest, but it helps knowing their may be good activity. Just as the first light of the day was appearing, this brown bear walked by and was silhouetted against the pink sky!

PURCHASE HERE

Moments like this are not something I take for granted. I’ve tried untold amount of times to photograph lights, and a large portion of them ended with the lights not even coming out. So when this spectacular show occurred, and there was so much movement and colors above the mountains, I took it all in and watched in amazement!

PURCHASE HERE

On nights when the lights are moving fast and vibrant, it truly is a sight to behold. Seeing the aurora change so fast and have different colors in the sky is incredible. For a short time these lights appeared and danced over these mountains!

PURCHASE HERE

I was watching the pink Aurora in amazement, when I noticed the green starting to appear too. The pink was so vivid and vibrant and shooting straight up, and the green was more dancing around. It was incredible to see both the colors and movements be different!

PURCHASE HERE

At night, you never know if the lights will show up, or where they will show up. I’ve gone to many places hoping they would appear over a certain area, only for them to not come close to where I wanted. On this night, the lights shown so bright it was hard to miss where they were!

PURCHASE HERE

Red is not a color I have seen much when I have seen the northern lights. But what an amazing color to see in the sky! The green and red color created a dynamic contrast in the night sky and was simply amazing to see!

PURCHASE HERE

The Aurora was very interesting on this night. I know there is the term dancing for the lights, as they seem to move and dance across the sky. But on this night, they would appear, and then disappear, and then appear again somewhere else quickly. It was different, but fun to try to capture!

PURCHASE HERE

There aren’t many nights I have seen where the northern lights filled the entire sky! I’ve seen lots of movement and color, but rarely having the lights be everywhere. Seeing these lights and some different colors at the same time was awesome!

PURCHASE HERE

It had always been a hope of mine to get to see pink northern lights. Pink is not a very common color, so I didn’t know if I would get to see it. On this night, once it turned pink, it was hard to keep taking photos as I just wanted to watch it!

PURCHASE HERE

I’ve been on many salmon rivers with hundreds of different bears, but not once did I see a wolf also fishing for salmon. I’ve heard them howl nearby, but not seen them fishing. To say this shot was a shot I have wanted for years would be an understatement! It was amazing watching this wolf catch this fish and hold it to show us what it had caught!

PURCHASE HERE

While being on a salmon river, you never know what will come fishing for salmon. After days of waiting, it was awesome when this wolf appeared! The wolf was cautious at first, and stood in this spot looking around before deciding where it wanted to go.

PURCHASE HERE

Watching this wolf hunt for salmon was amazing! I have spent years in Alaska waiting for this opportunity! This wolf was so focused on the salmon that it didn’t even notice me as it came my direction!

PURCHASE HERE

After watching this wolf move around the river, it smelled this bit of fish. It came to investigate and see if it had any more meat on it to eat. Once it got to the fish it realized not much was left, and stared across the river to look for more salmon.

PURCHASE HERE

The fall time is definitely a beautiful time of year! With the trees and entire forests changing colors, it’s an exciting time to be out in nature. When I found this forest, I loved that it was at peak color, and also that the trees were not super tight and that you could see through the forest and see all the yellow!

PURCHASE HERE

Fall is my favorite time of year because of the forests changing colors. The vibrant colors makes me want to be outside even more than I already am. This forest made me feel like everywhere I looked was only yellow leaves!

PURCHASE HERE

Humpback whales are fun to watch when they are active. They are so big and impressive when they are at the surface. However, they do dive to fish, and once the tail goes up, there is a waiting game until they resurface again.

PURCHASE HERE

Humpback whales have huge tails. When they slap it on the surface, or when they are diving, you can really see just how large they are. This whale begins to dive and the water rolls off like a waterfall off its tail.

PURCHASE HERE

Finding any owl is always a fun experience. Owls are just elusive and not seen all that often. This short-eared owl was flying around hunting on a cloudy day, and stood out against the cloudy background.

PURCHASE HERE

Puffins fly vey fast when they are coming into the cliffside to land. You would think they might slow down some to land, but it doesn’t look like they do. As I was panning with this puffin, I loved how it stood out in the sun against the dark background!

PURCHASE HERE

This eagle was very cooperative. We spotted it on this nice piece of drift wood down the beach, and it continued to stay there as we got closer. It was fun photographing it as the clouds moved in and out on the mountain behind it.

PURCHASE HERE

A peregrine falcon is extremely fast. It’s hard to even comprehend just how fast they can fly. Their top speed is around 200 mph! When I spotted this falcon, it took everything in me to be able to track it and get this one sharp photo as it banked my direction.

PURCHASE HERE