The first time I ever encountered a wolf in the wild was April 28, 2010 – the day I left BC to move to Yellowknife. Sadly, all I had was a crappy 5MP digital camera and little skill.
I left early in the morning and saw this beautiful timber wolf who must have JUST killed this deer. She disappeared into the trees so I pulled over and shut off my engine and waited hoping she would come back to the kill. It was just seconds before she emerged, panting. She didn’t waste any timegetting back to the corpse trying to drag it over the log you see behind her and into the privacy of the forest.
I think I watched her for 15 or 20 minutes before reluctantly pulling away to start my drive North. I still remember the feeling of intimacy in those moments. I was alone watching a lone wolf with a still-warm kill in the middle of my favourite place in the world. I was witnessing raw survival.
This moment was one I will never forget. How I wish I had better skills, a better camera, more images! Looking back at the photos of this amazing moment, I know that if an opportunity like this ever presents itself again, I’ll be better prepared to document it.
These are the moments that keep me going back out there. This is what it is to be a wildlife photographer.
These images aren’t my best but they started me down the path to where I am today and where I hope to be in the future.