10/21 – Honoring the Animals – Photo Gallery Part 1

During the past five weeks, I’ve been joined on this journey by hundreds of amazing creatures. Some I’ve met along the paths as I photographed the back country, some were more comfortable watching me from a distance, and a few others have literally guided me into distant areas of the park I would normally have missed. They have become my constant companions, and friends–these great creatures who fly, run, walk, and hop. And I’m grateful for the honor of being welcomed into their home.

     I’ve sat here for hours looking through the nearly 100 images of animals who’ve given me permission to photograph them. I’m also vividly aware of how each image produces an instant flashback of the entire moment when the photo was taken—the time, temperature, lighting, sounds, and the joy of meeting them for the first time. And, each image has a story to tell. There is the cottontail rabbit who visits the back door of my house most evenings, the two immense bison who suddenly appeared where none had been moments before, the bighorn sheep who walked directly to my car and looked at me eye to eye. Then too, there was the hawk and coyote who would both materialize five mornings in a row as I exited my car to photograph the sunrise. Some days the hawk would circle above and then slowly draw me into some distant area. Other days, the coyote, who always stayed a long distance away, would repeatedly walk, and then set, waiting for me to follow.

     There are too many images to show easily on this website. Instead, I’ve prepared Part One of an interactive slideshow containing 15 of those images. Once you begin the show you can either click on a specific photo to view it in a larger size, or easily navigate from one photo to the next. Within the next week, I complete and publish Part 2.

Click the Image to Start the Slideshow.