Last month, during a one-day exploration of the Rocky Mountain glaciers, Tyler Wall had a memorable encounter with a massive grizzly bear. Since then, he has transformed into a seasoned wildlife photographer.
“We had just completed a short trip and were heading back home,” Wall said in an interview with The Epoch Times, referring to his and his girlfriend’s first visit to the Columbia Icefield, located in Banff, northwestern Alberta, Canada.
During the pandemic, Wall moved to the mountain town to take advantage of Alberta’s relaxed lockdown policies. He is passionate about capturing landscapes and found Banff to be the ideal place due to its stunning natural beauty and opportunities in the hospitality industry.
To avoid the crowds of tourists on the Banff Avenue, Wall prefers picturesque countryside locations like Lake Louise. It was on a day in May this year, as they were returning from the icefield to Banff, that he first spotted a grizzly bear in the forest.
“We saw a car pulled over with hazard lights flashing,” Wall recounted.
He realized the car had stopped because of the grizzly bear and recognized this as a rare photography opportunity, as he happened to have his camera with him. Speculating that the bear had just come out of hibernation and was likely hungry for berries, it had wandered onto a large grassy area near the roadside.
“Luckily, I had a 25-150mm zoom lens in the car,” Wall said.
He turned the car around and pulled over, as the other car had driven away, leaving them alone with the grizzly bear. While Wall had seen bears before, they were usually fleeting brown figures near highways. This was his first clear sighting of a grizzly bear.
The bear was only about 15 meters away from them. Realizing that it would be irresponsible to disturb the primal nature scene by getting out of the car, Wall decided to capture the moment from inside. He noted that the bear didn’t show any signs of aggression but was certainly aware of their presence, looking back at them multiple times. The bear appeared massive, possibly weighing as much as a ton, and seemed healthy and relaxed as it lounged on the grass, almost as if leisurely hanging out with them.
“This experience was truly special because not only was the bear just relaxing there, it actually sat down. It was scratching, lying down, and even striking poses in an amusing way for me,” he said.
He took at least a dozen photos, which were both clear and captivating. After sharing them on social media, they quickly garnered attention.
Before moving to Banff, Wall studied film at York University in Ontario and lived in Toronto. It was during the pandemic that he developed an interest in still photography due to the lack of other activities in Ontario at that time. Soon, he bought a Canon T3 camera and began traveling to capture nature’s beauty before moving out west.
“I want to be outdoors, I want to explore. I want to take risks and capture scenery that people don’t normally see in their daily lives,” he said.
Prior to encountering the grizzly bear, he had visited Bryce Canyon in Zion National Park, Utah, to capture the spectacular rock arches. Now, this encounter with the bear has brought him even more attention, prompting him to consider focusing more on wildlife photography.
“After posting these photos, it had the most intense response of any photos I’ve taken. No set of photos had garnered this much attention before, so it really got me thinking: I need to get out there more and try to capture more wildlife,” he said.
“All this feedback was like telling me: I’m doing something right,” he added.
Wall described the grizzly bear as the “coolest” and “most astonishing” animal he has ever seen, but he remains cautious about the challenges of tracking them in the wild. “It was truly a situation that happened at the right time, in the right place.”
This news was originally published in The Epoch Times.