Max Waugh (USA) catches sight of a plains bison kicking up flurries of snow over its bulky frame in Yellowstone National Park, USA.
From his vehicle Max saw the bison start to head downhill towards the road, gathering momentum, so he braked to give them space to cross. Max framed one of the bison tightly to create this original composition.
Bison herds move in single file as they search for food, making for a striking sight. Plains bison eat mainly grasses and sedges, sweeping their bulky heads from side to side to clear the snow with their muzzles. Males can reach almost four metres long and two metres high at the shoulder. For their size, they can move surprisingly fast, reaching speeds of 60 kilometres per hour.
Once abundant and wide-ranging across most of North America, bison were hunted to near extinction by the late 1800s. Numbers are slowly increasing, but they’re confined to discrete populations, dependent on conservation management and constrained by land-use changes and land ownership.
USA
Based in Seattle, USA, Max leads photography tours in locations with high levels of biodiversity. These inspire an unforgettable sense of adventure and discovery, but what Max takes most pleasure from is sharing the experience with others - not only his tour clients, but a wider audience who may only get to learn about the world’s amazing nature through photography.
Help us harness the power of photography to advance scientific knowledge, spread awareness of important issues and nurture a global love for nature.
