Kennan Ward, Best Photo Mountain Flora & Fauna, 2004 Banff Mountain Photography Competition

"Finding a wild grey wolf (Canis lupus) is a lucky event by itself; being treated to unique behaviour feels like winning the lottery! Four years of winter fieldwork in Yellowstone National Park provided this brief encounter with a male wolf. I give full credit to the wolf, as I would not have imagined a pose so inquisitive and watchful from a truly wild wolf! This was the first time I took a digital-capture photo and knew, upon review moments later, that I had actually received something unique."

An adventurer-naturalist, Kennan Ward photographs and writes about wilderness and wildlife. In 1994, Kennan published his first book, Grizzlies in the Wild, which details both the natural history of grizzly bears, and his personal experiences while photographing them in their native habitat. Kennan’s second book, Journeys with the Ice Bear (1996), chronicles his experiences with polar bears in Canada and Russia. His third book, Denali: Reflections of a Naturalist (2000, chronicles thirty years of life experiences in Denali National Park. In 2003, the second edition of Kennan’s popular children’s book Born to Be Wild: Bears was printed in hardcover.