Surprise

There are instances in nature that surprise you, as in really surprise you. I was atop Polychrome Pass, with tripod setup, ready to capture a vast landscape panorama. Then I hear this odd clicking on my right. I glanced in the direction of the unexpected noise, and to my surprise see a caribou trotting up the trail.... right at me! I grabbed the attention of my colleague, and snagged my D500 with long lens. I looked through the viewfinder and the animal completely filled the composition while I was entirely zoomed out. I had no wiggle room. I composed as quickly as I could and fired, hoping I captured something worthwhile. In a matter of single digit seconds, I lowered the camera to see the caribou five or six meters away, still running right at me. Oddly my mind filled with the remembrance of my grandmother's favorite song, "Grandma got ran over by a reindeer," except I thought I was going to be run over. Seriously. And then at only three or four meters away, the caribou caught us in its glance, and ran off in a flat sprint. I am happy to say we were not run over. And can you say magic? Wow!

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