Lone Wolf

I haven't photographed much in the way of nature and wildlife for a few years, working more recently on Weddings and now Landscape images. I really enjoyed it though, photographing in and around the Nature Reserves of Lincolnshire. I concentrated on butterflies and dragonflies in the main, utilising the rather superb Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro lens mounted to my Nikon D200. Occasionaly I would venture further afield, sometimes to a zoo or wildlife park and this image of a Grey/Gray wolf was taken at one such park in Aviemore, Scotland, in the heart of the beautiful and rugged Cairngorms Mountain range. The enclosure is one of the biggest in Europe and it afforded some very impressive views of these majestic creatures. I always try and capture as natural an image as I possibly can, avoiding fences and wires wherever possible. I had watched the wolves for about 30 minutes and noticed that occasionally they would stop and stand on a small hillock, staring down towards the viewing enclosure where I was set up, Nikon D200 with Sigma 120-300m F2.8 all ready and attached to a sturdy Manfrotto tripod. It was cold, snow had been falling throughout the morning and I was getting a bit fidgety, standing still in the rather exposed and blowy vantage point. Finally a wolf willingly obliged and stood in the perfect position, staring down towards me, a backdrop of tangled branches and snow. I just had time to fire off a couple of shots before he decided he had had enough and trotted off.

The image has been quite successful for me, selling amongst others to a National newspaper and art poster site. It's one of those iconic pictures you quite often see of a lone wolf, a rather haunting depiction of such a beautiful animal, and one we need to protect at all costs.

Beautiful Lone Wolf