Just Another Boulder
Despite the rain and wind, we’d had a successful day photographing wildlife in Yellowstone National Park. We were heading back for the evening when we noticed some people along the road who appeared to be watching something. Unfortunately, they weren’t interested in sharing what they were looking at.
About a quarter mile farther down the road, we encountered another couple. After using a pullout to change direction, we learned from them that there was a bear near the tree line.
We were among the first to arrive and had a little time to watch and photograph the bear before more people began stopping along the road, including in places they shouldn’t have.
This was actually our second grizzly bear of the day. We knew it wasn’t the same bear because the first one had been wearing a tracking collar.
The light was fading quickly, and photographing a moving bear with a handheld camera wasn’t ideal. But sometimes the experience is more important than getting the perfect photograph. I’m not sure this photograph will ever become a large print, but that doesn’t make the experience or the image any less valuable to me.
What makes me smile about this image is how the bear almost seems to be hiding behind the grass. It appeared to be trying to get out of sight as quickly as possible. For such a large animal, it was doing a pretty good job of blending into the landscape.
Looking back at the photograph, I couldn’t help thinking that if you weren’t paying attention, you might mistake that big brown shape for Just Another Boulder.
