Wild wolf, 20 yards, change underwear!
Four and a half years, and I've gotten pictures of wild wolves exactly three times. One set over a kill, one very fast grab shot a few weeks back of a wolf full of mange. And now, this.
I encountered this black wolf near Moose Lake out the Fernberg Road nearly Ely this afternoon. Well, we encountered each other. I was 20 yards away. It didn't seem bothered by that one single bit. I've never been this close to a wild wolf (that I knew about, anyway), and at 1/100 sec it was hard to hold steady enough to get good images.
Blackie stayed with me only for a few seconds in view, but it was a few seconds I'll never forget. Now, this is not a home run. I could ask for a better background and foreground, or for a bit longer to work with Canis lupus, but you don't dictate terms to a wild wolf, you're just happy it happened. And thank God for the zoom. If I'd been stuck with the 400 prime, I would have been able to get nothing but tight shots (not that I'd be complaining.)
Canon 30D and Canon 100-400L IS at 260mm, iso400, 1/100 at f7.1, handheld, evaluative metering, Al servo focus mode. Just before the wolf came into view, I saw something big and black moving toward me. Figuring it was a bear or a wolf, and would be a LOT of black on a flat-light day, I quickly upped iso from 200 to 400, and bumped from One Shot to Al servo focus mode.
You can critique this all you want, since this is what this forum's stated purpose is. I just wanted to share, and to emphasize that hard work pays off sooner or later.
Comments
42 commentsA billion times better than the best captive shot. I'm going out for a couple of beers now and will toast to what must have been a career highlight for a fellow NPN'er.
Like hell!
I may have been pretty cool and collected for the half minute this all developed, but when it was over I sat down and shook like a little girl. Well, soldiers tell me that's what happens in combat, too. Training takes over, and when it's over you have an adrenaline rush that makes you tremble, tremble, tremble. Now, having done it, I'll take that tremble any time I can get it.
I have another, tighter image of the wolf in that patented lupine head-down stare, but it is not quite as sharp and, since I zoomed to get a tighter shot, the whole wolf is not in the frame. I'll post it later after the time limit allows. After I took this image, the wolf actually took a few steps toward me before dropping its head and staring again. Yikes!
very nice story and encounter. Under the described circunstances a very good picture. And as you say, one not always will find the best conditions, but one will have many nice memories of encounters like this. The stare is really great. I like that eyes. They look a bit surprise, maybe like the ones of the photographer...
Ralph Kerr
Ken Archer
I've spent going on five years waiting for just such a moment as this. It's why I moved to Ely. So I've conditioned myself to be calm no matter what the situation. It's not really easy to do that, but it can be done, and I don't have a fast pulse by nature.
I waited until a few minutes later to fall apart.
Congratulations!
I'm looking forward to seeing this photo every time I access the site this month. Congrats on the Nov cover shot. Great story as well.
Cheers,
Andre
I have quite a handful of captive wolf images shot at the International Wolf Center in Ely. Some are better compositionally and dramatically than this image. But I'm not proud of any of those. It's easy to make composition and drama happen with tame animals. All it takes is time spent with the right light, and sooner or later those captives will do just the right thing in just the right way at just the right time.
This one was different. Yes.
This registers instantly as a wild animal. It is something about the body language - tail down, but not submissive, gaze direct, I don't know what all. It's just the whole thing. The exposure is beautiful. This is one black-as-coal animal, but the sheen on the coat comes through. Congratulations on the cover shot. This is a great nature shot.
Pete D.
Jacob-Carl