It can be hard to get up sometimes in the winter because it is so cold in Yellowstone. However, I know on a sunny day that first light is fleeting and I have to be out if I want a chance to photograph an animal in that light. I was excited on this morning when this large bison came walking my way as the sun illuminated the steam!

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The fun part about being in Yellowstone is each day brings new situations and new lighting. On this morning we had spent time with this bison herd, but as they moved, the lighting continued to change. Once they got to the rivers edge, the backlit landscape came to life with all the steam rising and the landscape was now black and white!

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Winter in Yellowstone is a magical time. I feel like the park comes to life more the colder it gets. This large bison was hanging out in a thermal area, and as the sun rose, it brought to life the thermal landscape behind this bison!

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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