Wolf at Sunrise Photo

Photographer’s Note

Hello to my friends at TE! Sorry I haven't been around lately. My new career is keeping me busy! I hope to contribute more in the coming months.

This wolf was captured (in my camera!) in the morning at Teton National Park. I was shooting directly into the sun, and experimenting with my exposure and aperture settings.

The wolf is a much loved and hated creature here in the U.S. Ranchers and sheep herders despise them because they are claimed to each their animals. Wilderness lovers and conservationists love them. For them, they are an icon of wilderness and wildness.

Wolves were re-introduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 after having been absent for many decades. Of course, they took to their new homes and started reproducing. They are now to be found in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and even Utah. It should first be noted that they really helped Yellowstone National Park. By keeping elk and bison herds on the move, they kept these animals healthier. Since the elk were now moving, grassland and forests were restored and healthier, too. It was a great success for the park. Teton National Park is directly south of Yellowstone, and has in like wise benefited from this new predator.

Outside the park, ranchers still loathe them.

Wolves have been the subject of many a fairy tale, literally. They are portrayed as evil and bloodthirsty, when in fact very few attacks on humans have ever taken place. No attacks whatsoever have taken place with healthy animals in a healthy environment.

We were lucky that this one came so close!

eshirey, indoka28, Jeppe, syd1946, robiuk, singuanti, PixelTerror, Angshu, mortijo, john_c, feather, xuaxo, Didi, ChrisJ, Bluejeans, jhm, cam, molla, polter, stego, cdmonson, Bien has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

eshirey (325) 2007-08-12 10:25

Love this! Light/color is great.

indoka28 (5187) 2007-08-12 10:28

hello david,

This is an amzing shot..it looks like the wolf is walking on the water..very good light management and great POV...!!

Regards,
Indro

drago (4826) 2007-08-12 10:41

David hi,due to the fact that the book that i'm reading these days has to do with Werewolves in the "Pioneer age" at U.S,this image matches perfect!
Regards
Panagiotis

Jeppe (18623) 2007-08-12 11:00

Hi David

A fine moody image with a great note.
The last wolf was shot here in Denmark 1813 and if you look back in history was there also bears and beavers living wild in the Danish wilderness.
For 5 years ago was a couple of beavers put back in the Danish nature and they are doing well - over 50 individuals.

Good to hear from you as well - Can't spend that much time on TE - but like to drop by ever now and then.

Jeppe

syd1946 (17913) 2007-08-12 11:04

Hello David,
A fascinating shot for sure with wolf stole all the glory from the sunrise.Almost surrealistic composition,a pleasure for the eyes!

Greetings,
Thomas

kensimage (8541) 2007-08-12 12:53

Beautiful, David! Monochrome is perfect for this, and the wolf is very nicely placed in the frame. He seems so alone-where's the rest of the pack? I didn't realize wolves had spread out so much from Yellowstone--I guess the highest concentrations are still in northern Yellowstone, but it's good they're succeeding and spreading. I saw no wolves during my recent trip to Yellowstone and Grant Teton, so you were indeed fortunate. Regards, Ken.

robiuk (10763) 2007-08-12 13:06

At last!
Hi David,
I thought you'd decided not to be involved
anymore... but you should've seen the size
of my smile when I got an electronic note
in my mail about your upload!
And there it is, a photo just in your style,
sensible, atmospheric, inovative - accompanied
by an informative note (as always).
Glad to have you back even if this means in
smaller amounts...
Have a great day, man!
Robi

singuanti (15240) 2007-08-12 19:28

Hi David. I'm glad I didn't miss this! You know I'm going to be in Grand Tetons and Yellowstone myself in less than 3 weeks. Looking at this shot isn't going to make the time fly any faster! ;) That's one of the warmest and most intense skies I've ever seen. I'm going to try to get up nice and early so I don't miss magical moments like this! Fantastic work David!!

PixelTerror (86138) 2007-08-13 2:04

Hi David,
Yep long time no see, welcome back and hope everything is going well for you !
I did not remember you having a 30D so I checked your last posts to confirm you have indeed upgraded your hardware, so my congratulations for this (no longer so) new stuff ! This one has been blown out a bit by the sun but the silhouette of the wolf is clearly visible. Funnily it seems to be walking on water, but I guess it must rather be snow. How can you take such a shot when such a flat terrain hints for no possibility to hide ?
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

baba_flies (7985) 2007-08-13 3:53

Dear David! I was missing your photos, and I am thrilled that you are back with new treasures as this one. You keep the wolf mysterious with this photo. Very nice to see him trot along in this golden light. Your experiment came out wonderful.

Wolfs and bears were seen in Switzerland over the last years, and there is mass hysteria, you would not believe it! Many Swiss are so far away from nature, and I always say to my friends, go to North America, we were tenting beside a bear - and survived! I am a city person but I do need my rural kick every so often. Have a great day, Barbara.

mortijo (12248) 2007-08-13 9:04

Glad to be notified that you are back! The impression one gets is that the wolve is walking on wtare, but I guess it is snow! A nice composition and, above all, a veryè interesting note.
Regards, John.

john_c (24635) 2007-08-13 9:14

Hi David,
A rather surreal look to this scene, with the wolf apparently walking on water. I like the proportion of the wolf in the scene, surrounded by the utter vastness. Very fine work, and I hope to see more of your work on TE. Regards.
John

feather (49860) 2007-08-14 4:20

Hello again stranger. Good to see a new post. Taking the shot into the sun has produced a wonderful atmosphere as well as rendering the scene in monotone. How lucky you were to see this fellow. The light has also created a texture like water on the ground which I am sure you are well aware of, adding a touch of surrealism to the image. Well done
Kath

Angshu (33665) 2007-08-14 21:00

Hello David
Great to see you after quite a long time...glorious shot to re-open your account. intense sun, but the effect is amazing capturing the wolf in silhouette, as if walking on water.
Regards
Angshu

xuaxo (5733) 2007-08-14 23:15

Hi David
Very strange and also fascinating picture; it seems the wolf is roaming over water. Kind of magic image. Recalling fairy tales, as you write in the note. You made a great celebration of the wolves.
Regards,
F

bantonbuju (48630) 2007-08-15 23:04

hi dave,
yeah, you were sort of absent for quite a long time, weren't you?...:-))
nice re-start with this spectacular "foggy" photo...
it is interesting what you say about this contradictory-to-what-we-think-about-wolves behaviour of those aimals...
nice work,
bw,j.

marioana (2178) 2007-08-15 23:42

Hello David.
I guess we all have lives away from Trek, well, most of us ;) Good that you can keep contributing. Your images are a great asset to this site. Very beautiful capture. I like how the sun flare was strong enough to put the wolf in silhouette but not enough to take away the details around him. Very beautiful. Well done.
Best regards, Steve.

Didi (36136) 2007-08-16 8:50

Hi David
I hope also for a bigger presence in TE.
Very interesting composition original by this overexposure who gave a special effect.
I hope that the wolf was no hungry.
Cheers.

ChrisJ (70271) 2007-08-16 8:54

Hi David

The wolf appears to be walking on water, although I know it must be ice. It's also well placed in the frame & slightly off center, which is good. Good sharpness & a simple, uncluttered bg with uniform sunrise colours, that bely the cold. Tfs!

Bluejeans (32335) 2007-08-16 10:59

Ola amigo
Fantastica visão deste lobo parece que caminha sobre agua , gostei do tons de amarelo , ficou uma foto muito bonita contra o sol , parabens!!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

berek (28909) 2007-08-16 22:24

Hi David,
its simple and impressive composition. its like a dream my friend. I like main colours and your idea. greetings. have a good work.
B.Erek

jmcl (13839) 2007-08-16 22:31

HI David,

Wonderful post .. thanks for sharing it .. I love the feeling of symbolism I get from the beautiful light and tone .. a new day for these beautiful creatures.

take care,

John

barni (14537) 2007-08-17 1:34

Hello David
Une silhouette dans la lumière.
Très belle image.
Regards
Christophe

Fis2 (45849) 2007-08-17 2:35

Witaj David!
Your photo is interesting. Good frame and composition. I like the colours. Wolf makes impression. Good job!
Regards
Krzysztof

hay_kes (28562) 2007-08-17 13:15

Excellent sunrise composed, great colors and sharpness and excellent light.TFS

toto (18709) 2007-08-18 1:02

Belle photo de ce loup dans ce soleil aveuglant qui lui donne un aura et le fait sortire du néan pour nous apparaitre lorsque l' on regarde bien.Il est vraiment beau dans ce soleil.Une très jolies photo. Amitiés Thomas
je reviens

jhm (82577) 2007-08-18 8:12

Hello David,

I'm very glad you see again, you new career is absolutely precedence towards TE.
A very lovely but a very difficult picture with backlight, you did very nice, my compliments. Thans for sharing.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

euryan (8349) 2007-08-19 17:53

This is one of the best wolf photos I have ever seen. It's a beautiful work of art. I have a similar looking photo with the same lighting, same color result and also taken in Grand Teton, except my photo is of bison (which isn't nearly as cool). I have no good photos of wolves. :-(
I hope you find the time to share more awesome photos with us.

cam (8880) 2007-08-19 19:37

Hi Dave
It is a pleasure to see you back.
I have some difficulty with this image.
I feel that the glare is very strong,I know that it is normal when you face the sun, but still i do not feel attracted personally to the picture.
You do convey a sense of grandeur and empty space stretching without end, and the image of the lonely wolf reads as a testimony of his long return home for this exceptional animal.
I still have to see a wolf in the wild.
Good night
Charles

UnTrained (0) 2007-08-20 1:26

Hi David,
a well composed capture very close to the rules of third and with the light striking the eye. But this is additionally telling about the lonelyness there and makes it mysterious, but not dangerous. It is cold and warm in the same moment.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

molla (6883) 2007-08-20 8:17

Wolfs are rare to capture. you manage! that a smile in it self.
But I kind of like this outburned image where the animal litterary walks in to the sun.
I don't know what would happen with a higher contrast maybe some of the magic would be gone.
In Sweden there's unfortunably a lot of hate towards the wolf in lack of knowlegde which is a danger for the around 200 wolfes that we have in ouer domain.

polter (6096) 2007-08-26 2:54

Hi David!
Your photo is fairy tale itself - mysterious free space filled with enigmatic light. And the even more enigmatic silhouette of lonely wolf... Very impressive. Great and moving vision.
Greetings T.

stego (22352) 2007-08-31 10:55

Hi David,

You don't appear much, but when you do it, you tend to impress me much with your special way of engraving deep atmospheres in photos.

I guess that many of us wouldn't dare to shoot such a photo, because we wouldn't believe that it resulted in anything decent. I am glad you did it because it's... amazing(?)... fabulous(?)...

A great work! Congratulations!

Regards, José.

cdmonson (2753) 2007-09-13 13:01

Hi David:

So this is your new 30D, huh? Quite nice, quite nice. I like that you caught this without any damage to the image from the sun. I also like the symbolism of a new dawn for the wolf in the West. Interesting animals--I wish there were an easy way to balance the ranchers' and environmentalists' interest. Great picture.

Clark

prumod (8258) 2007-09-30 4:56

hi david...
nice shot... your title and not is very informative... good colors and exposure!
greetings...