Great gray owl in Yellowstone National Park

They say you never forget your first, and that's absolutely true of my first encounter with a Great Gray Owl. After a quiet photography trip in the Tetons, I drove into the heart of Yellowstone on my last full day, hoping for a change of luck. I was disappointed to hear other photographers had struck out for days—but then, our luck changed instantly. For the next hour and a half, we watched this magnificent bird hunt in a small meadow. This was my favorite frame from the evening: the owl soaring directly toward me, its massive wings spread wide in near-silent flight, its focused golden eyes fixed on the tall, golden grasses below.