Without it they are not responsive enough to set up the shots for the photographers. Minnik and Mannai run free for a little bit but they are always checking to see where I am. They keep coming back to me because I have their treats. The treats this time are pieces of grilled chicken (which happens to be their favorite) that I cooked up before we left our house. Every time Minnik and Mannai come back to me, I give them a treat. This is what allows me to keep them close and paying attention to my signals. I usually will put the pieces of chicken in a sandwich bag. If I shake the bag, it makes a noise that really gets their attention. They know that a treat is connected with that sound!!!

It is now time to set up the desired
shot. For this photo we need to get the
animals to walk the ridge line. In the back
ground is a beautiful mountain side that
looks like the arctic. The peaks are beautiful, the light is perfect and now is the best time for the shot. Off we go! I begin to run from one side of the scene to the other. Minnik and Mannai will usually follow me (remember, I have the treats). As they run from one end of the ridge to the other, Mace makes a sound so that the animals look towards the camera for a split second. At that time the shots are taken, but the photographer needs to be quick and I need to be far

do this all of the time. On this day, the
shoot was on their terms. I know from
experience to just be patient until they decide to give us what is needed. We spent about thirty minutes running back and forth to get some beautiful pictures. I was getting exhausted! (I tire out a lot quicker than they do) As a change of pace, I decided to try and get them over to a big rock outcropping nearby. I could see that would be a great photo opportunity. On this day Minnik and Mannai just wanted to hang out with me. These two animals are quite special and the intelligence that they have is incredible. However, after a couple of hours running and playing around on the rocks we decided to call it a day. Now is the time to get them leashed up and back into the truck. Minnik and Mannai have always jumped back into the truck for me and will usually wait calmly for me to close the gate. They are great boys who have always been extremely gentle with me and have never been difficult to deal with. They gave me my kisses, we got the shots and we head back to the house.
You can see many of their images throught this website.

The next time you look at a gorgeous
wolf picture in a magazine or a book that
you think has been captured in a photograph just by chance….think again! There may be somebody like me just off to the side of the shot, working hard to get the animals’ attention in order to capture the perfect image.

enough in front of the animals so that I am not captured in the shot. On this day Minnik just wanted to kiss me. I couldn’t get him off of me and at some point I just gave into it! (That is why this photo of the three of us is so funny!) They are all over me, licking me and wrestling with me in the dirt. These two are like little kids! The image of a wolf that most people have in their minds is of an elusive and wild animal. Minnik and Mannai are two big gentle babies. Just when I thought I had them settled down enough so that we could be serious--they start up again. They know what I want since we