One of the many unsolicited lessons of 2020 was the inability to plan for the unexpected. Despite my attempts to map out destinations and subjects for images, forces outside of my control would throw it all to the wayside.

After countless travel cancellations, July proved to be a significant moment. It marked my first trip during the pandemic and was my first visit to the world’s first national park. I embraced the trip as an opportunity to explore a new part of the country over a few days and to enjoy the feeling of traveling once more.

Much of my early work revolved around landscapes. While I learned a lot from the process, I found myself drawn more to the unpredictable quality of photographing wildlife and the inherent variety of images that it provides. I also felt that I connected more with animal subjects in my images than with landscapes. To me, it’s the difference between capturing emotion rather than an aesthetic. But sometimes, there’s overlap between the two.

Early one morning, I spotted a bison feeding in a marshy area before a wall of trees. I approached slowly to position myself for a better angle but wasn’t presented with much to work with. I crouched in the wet grass until he walked away into the forest. Scanning around for other animals, I noticed a single pine tree standing in the grasses off to my left. From my position, it looked like an interesting subject, but when I moved to stand in front of the tree with the other pines behind it, I knew I had something. It needed no bells and whistles—it was already perfect.

Morning mist cloaked the background as the sun made a feeble effort to pierce through the fog. Just enough light filtered through at that hour to bring out the soft greens in the tall grasses. The highlight, though, was the perfectly placed gap in the tree line that helped the lone pine make an impact. 

Despite all the preparation that can go into capturing an image, Mother Nature often reminds you who sets the stage. That quiet morning, with its ideal conditions and the lone tree still standing tall, conveyed the essence of that period of time better than I ever could.

I was just grateful I was there to witness it.