Who's afraid of the big bad . . .

[Steve Foss]

. . . WOLLLLLLFFFFF!

Ken (finnbay) and I had just put in a largely uninspiring day up the Echo Trail, with deep dark skies and rain/snow mix dampening our spirits.

We had lucked into a shoot with a trio of gray jays, and since Ken especially wanted to test his 50D at really high iso ratings, and since I'd wanted to see how clean my 30D would be with high iso ratings on the 300 f2.8, we were happy to find them.

And we did a little portrait work with each other as well, not to mention we found some deer. And then it started getting dark. I mean dark, about half way to full dark, so we packed it up and headed in. But of course we kept our gear ready, because literally anything can happen.

OK, so those photos of each of us, some landscapes, gray jays and deer will be posted on a different thread, because it would be an outright shame to combine a thread with all those images and this . . .

. . . wolf that walked within 20 feet of us!

Both with the Canon 30D, Canon 300 f2.8L IS, iso1600, 1/20 at f2.8, monopod

OK, now for the back story. We were about 20 miles up the Echo and heading back. I was looking down at my camera body chimping to see just how clean my gray jay photos might be at iso3200 when I heard Ken say "What is THAT!" Immediately I looked up and there was a wolf about 40 feet ahead of us trotting around a curve toward us on the Echo. I got my lens up but Ken was already opening his door, so I jumped out and we started firing away.

It was literally half dark. Ken was armed with the slow 100-400L IS but had the great high iso performance of the 50D to counteract the slow f5.6 max aperture. I had the 30D, which is pretty clean but nothing close to the 50D on high iso noise performance, so I took the sharpness of the 300 and its f2.8 max aperture, the monopod and the IS into account and chose iso1600, hoping to get enough shutter speed for sharp images but not wanting to beef it up all the way to iso3200 because of the noise. I can't recall how many images Ken got, but of the 35 or so I took, half were sharp enough to market. I'm pretty sure Ken was shooting at iso3200 or 6400 with the 50D. I know Ken got some nice ones, too.

We had a car following close behind us during the drive, and we walked over to talk to the amazed couple in the vehicle. The guy was still in shock that, not only had a wild wolf trotted right down the Echo to within feet of us, but that these two guys in full camo bailed out of our vehicle with monster lenses and wild looks in our eyes as soon as we saw the wolf.

At one point, as the wolf came to within 20 feet and showed no sign of stopping, I hollered at it so it wouldn't keep advancing. There's simply no telling what a wolf might do, and there was no way to know if this one had been habituated through feeding or what. Predators, we know, are unpredictable, so I gave it a holler and it nonchalantly sauntered into the woods, where we played hid and seek for a minute or so.

There WERE a few high fives in the vehicle on the way back. After we got our hearts restarted, that is.

I only realized after getting back to my office and downloading the images that it was a year to the week since I lucked into photographing the black wolf of the Fernberg.

Forever more, October will be the month of the wolf for me.

[tacklejunkie]

. . . WOLLLLLLFFFFF!

Ken (finnbay) and I had just put in a largely uninspiring day up the Echo Trail, with deep dark skies and rain/snow mix dampening our spirits.

We had lucked into a shoot with a trio of gray jays, and since Ken especially wanted to test his 50D at really high iso ratings, and since I'd wanted to see how clean my 30D would be with high iso ratings on the 300 f2.8, we were happy to find them.

And we did a little portrait work with each other as well, not to mention we found some deer. And then it started getting dark. I mean dark, about half way to full dark, so we packed it up and headed in. But of course we kept our gear ready, because literally anything can happen.

OK, so those photos of each of us, some landscapes, gray jays and deer will be posted on a different thread, because it would be an outright shame to combine a thread with all those images and this . . .

. . . wolf that walked within 20 feet of us!

Both with the Canon 30D, Canon 300 f2.8L IS, iso1600, 1/20 at f2.8, monopod

OK, now for the back story. We were about 20 miles up the Echo and heading back. I was looking down at my camera body chimping to see just how clean my gray jay photos might be at iso3200 when I heard Ken say "What is THAT!" Immediately I looked up and there was a wolf about 40 feet ahead of us trotting around a curve toward us on the Echo. I got my lens up but Ken was already opening his door, so I jumped out and we started firing away.

It was literally half dark. Ken was armed with the slow 100-400L IS but had the great high iso performance of the 50D to counteract the slow f5.6 max aperture. I had the 30D, which is pretty clean but nothing close to the 50D on high iso noise performance, so I took the sharpness of the 300 and its f2.8 max aperture, the monopod and the IS into account and chose iso1600, hoping to get enough shutter speed for sharp images but not wanting to beef it up all the way to iso3200. I can't recall how many images Ken got, but of the 35 or so I took, half were sharp enough to market. I'm pretty sure Ken was shooting at iso3200 or 6400 with the 50D. I know Ken got some nice ones, too.

We had a car following close behind us during the drive, and we walked over to talk to the amazed couple in the vehicle. The guy was still in shock that, not only had a wild wolf trotted right down the Echo to within feet of us, but that these two guys in full camo bailed out of our vehicle with monster lenses and wild looks in our eyes as soon as we saw the wolf.

At one point, as the wolf came to within 20 feet and showed no sign of stopping, I hollered at it so it wouldn't keep advancing. There's simply no telling what a wolf might do, and there was no way to know if this one had been habituated through feeding or what. Predators, we know, are unpredictable, so I gave it a holler and it nonchalantly sauntered into the woods, where we played hid and seek for a minute or so.

There WERE a few high fives in the vehicle on the way back. After we got our hearts restarted, that is.

I only realized after getting back to my office and downloading the images that it was a year to the week since I lucked into photographing the black wolf of the Fernberg.

Forever more, October will be the month of the wolf for me.

did you have a Milk Bone for him??

it's neat to see them in the wild

[mmeyer]

Congrats Steve! That's a fantastic story and great images to boot! It pays to be prepared.

[Steve Foss]

No Milk Bones, though Ken had just finished feeding gray jays, so there's no telling what Mr. Wolf smelled. Maybe we just smelled like dinner, because he showed no inclination to stop even as he trotted within 20 feet straight toward us. He probably would have passed up on Ken. Lots more fat on my bones. I was about to detatch the big ole heavy monopod and get ready for a little skirmish before I told him to stop and he did and walked into the woods. Really, I just wanted to get pictures of him off the road in a more natural environment.

Thanks, MM. As buzzsaw always used to say, chance favors a prepared mind. And chance it was.

[yakfisher]

Way to go guys, that is just great. Nice shots too, I wouldn't complain at all about the performance of the 30D with that 2.8 hanging on it. Congratulations! I can't wait to see Ken's photos.

[MN Shutterbug]

Ohmigosh. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the photos. Dang, right place and almost the right time combined with good equipment and experience and know how and you have winning photographs.

I'm heading to Ely next October.

[finnbay]

Nice shots, Steve! Mine were not as sharp as that - the 100-400L was still a little slow even at ISO 3200. Also at 1/20th of a second. Didn't have the monopod on, and I think that would have made a big difference! Haven't looked at all of them, but one of the first:

[Royce Aardahl]

Sweet!

[yakfisher]

Speak of the devil, Congrats Ken. I'm looking forward to seeing what you captured too.

[fishinmajishin]

Great experience! Thanks for sharing with us.

[polarsusd81]

Those are some awesome shots and what a story guys. That is a pretty close encounter. Hope to see some more Ken.

[Steve Foss]

Yeah, Ken, that monopod makes all the difference sometimes at slow shutter speeds. An amazing encounter, no matter what!

[MARINERMAGNUM]

Wow,that's a awesome experience to have happen all at once!

Great shots. Steve,you got a 300 too? I didn't know. How do you like it? It looks sharp.

[Steve Foss]

It is DEFINITELY sharp. Almost as sharp as the 400 f2.8L Mk2 (non IS), but not quite. I wouldn't have been able to get these captures to marketable sharpness if I'd been limited to my 400 f5.6L, which is tack sharp but has the slow aperture and no IS. Even if I'd bumped iso to 3200, with the 400 f5.6 I'd have been at 1/10 sec, and even from a monopod with no IS the images would have all been blurry.

As for the 300, thanks for the loan, Ken!

[Dbl]

Great work Steve and Ken! How cool is that! Steve I never worry about 3200 ISO with proper exposure in that 30D. Way to go guys.

[buzzsaw]

Gotta love those incredibly neat moments! I was just planning a trip to Yellowstone and looking at Wolf and Moose images and then decided to check in here and low and behold you got a few nice images here in Minnesota! Great work!

[Steve Foss]

Steve I never worry about 3200 ISO with proper exposure in that 30D.

I do. I worry about EVERYTHING!

Buzz, good luck in Yellowstone. It's a paradise for photographers, and the tours tend to get in pretty close to the wolf packs. I'm envious. Sigh.

[upnorth]

Nice shots guys. Not often someone can get that close to a wolf. I spend a fair amount of time hiking in the woods and see a lot of deer, grouse, eagles, bears, moose, and even a coyote, but I have never scored a wolf. Seen a few glimpses of things out of the corner or my eye that I thought may have been a wolf. Out of a car window yes, never out of the car.

[WCS]

Great story and great photos! Steve, that second shot is awesome.

[fishinchicks]

Wow! Awesome photos!

[jonny_redhorse]

Superb captures guys!...That wolf doesn't appear startled or scared whatsoever!.....looks to be completely "in control" of the "man/wolf" encounter on the road......such a dignified creature the wolf!......

[Deitz Dittrich]

Steve, that 2nd shot is a total winner!!!! The first is awesome as well, I cant stop looking at them..

[buzzsaw]

Quote:

Buzz, good luck in Yellowstone. It's a paradise for photographers, and the tours tend to get in pretty close to the wolf packs. I'm envious. Sigh.

I wasn't planning on participating on any tours, actually a friend of mine that just did that deal in Fergus Falls over the weekend has done the trip over twenty times and has offered to bring me.

[yakfisher]

Buzz, Sounds like a personal tour, that is great. I can't wait to see what you bring back for us.

Any of your other shots worth posting Steve, or are you gonna make us wait to read another by-line?

[Steve Foss]

Buzz, that's the best of all possible worlds, you lucky bugger!

yak, there are several others that are sharp enough, but they all are pretty much alike with only subtle differences.

I'm still pretty jazzed about the whole encounter. The guy that pulled up behind us when the wolf was there already e-mailed looking to buy prints, so that's cool, too.