Gray wolf portrait, Denali National Park, Alaska
Gray wolf portrait, Denali National Park, Alaska. Canon 5D Mark III, 500mm f/4L IS, 1/500 sec @ 4/f, ISO 1000
Generally, getting too close to a wild wolf is not a problem I encounter often when photographing. However, in this case, a wolf from the Grant Creek pack in Denali National Park walked directly towards the vehicle I was traveling in late one evening. They often travel down the park road, I presume for ease of travel. I had on a 500mm lens, and this is about the only frame out of a handful that was in focus. Maneuvering a long lens on a moving subject at such close distances is challenging. Especially with a subject moving erratically among willows and grasses. I particularly like the eye contact in this scene, and the in focus/out of focus areas work well to direct the viewer’s eyes right to the wolf’s eyes.
Nice! I can relate to the wolves walking down the road in the middle of the night, though, I don’t have a picture to show for it.
Jon, while those encounters are pretty cool to watch, they are often not good for photography.
Hi Patrick,
Very nice shot of the wolf! It can be very frustrating having a long lens like your 500mm on & have ANY animal heading towards you leaving no time to change lenses or even dare refocus more precisely just shoot away & hope you can come up with 1-3 Good images from the encounter. This one would have made my day if it had been me there instead of you-great work as always, keep it coming!
Chuck
I don’t see many wolf photos that I like, but I do like the feel of this one. One good one is all you can ask for!
This is simple stunning Patrick. I love your photos and look forward future posts.