Big Brown

I wrapped up my final winter Yellowstone workshop--and my trip--today, and we were blessed with a moment my client and I will long remember. It's not often that you get wolves in Yellowstone close to the road and within good photo range. It's even rarer that you get them to yourselves.

In this case, a crowd had gathered on the northern road to watch a lone female wolf who was making her way eastward along the top of the cliffs. She peeked over once or twice after we arrived on the scene, but soon disappeared. I figured that if she was moving east, we may be able to catch sight of her further up the road. My instincts aren't always right, but this time they were spot on. Just as we were approaching the next small canyon, the wolf popped out in the road in front of us. I pulled over, and that's when a second wolf came up behind my car!

This is the second wolf, as he follows the first through the snow-covered bowl of the canyon. He is the alpha male of the Blacktail Pack (the first wolf was the alpha female), and has been given the nickname "Big Brown." A few minutes later the wolves stationed themselves on the hill above the road and gave us a howling session that lasted several minutes. Of course, the rest of the crowd of onlookers had arrived by then to keep us company.

This is one of the few shots from the encounter that does a good job of hiding the wolf's radio collar. A number of Yellowstone wolves are collared for research, so it's always tough to find them before the folks who are tracking them.

A fantastic way to end the workshop and the trip!

Canon 1DX
Canon 500mm f/4 IS + 1.4x TC
ISO 800
1/2500th
f/7.1
+2/3 exp. comp.
Hand-held

Max