Wolf Portrait

When photographing wildlife, it always pays to be prepared.

I often refer to this as my “3-second shot”… because that’s exactly what it was.

Before this moment, every photo I had of a Gray Wolf seemed to be nothing more than tails and disappearing shadows. They are, after all, incredibly elusive.

On this particular day, I had just stopped to reset my camera for the changing light. Within moments, a beautiful grey wolf ran across the road in front of me and vanished into the forest.

When I reached the spot where it had disappeared, I caught a quick glimpse of it moving back in the direction I had just come from. Remembering a small clearing I had passed, I turned around and made my way back as quickly as I could.

Within 30 seconds of arriving… there it was.

Standing at the edge of the clearing, just long enough.

Long enough for me to capture this image before it slipped silently back into the safety of the forest.

Had I not taken those few seconds to adjust for the light, this moment—my first full-body encounter with such a breathtaking creature—would have been gone just as quickly as it appeared.

-Stan Masters

I have since been told that this wolf was actually the alpha female of the Bow Valley Pack at the time – what a blessing it was to capture this image of her!

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