This photograph was taken at a 13,000 acre ranch in south Texas that has hundreds of wild Bison running on it. These Bison are never handled or moved from the ranch.

When I arrived at the ranch in the hope of capturing a close-up picture of a Bison along the same lines as the photographs I did of horse for my book Heart of the Horse I was given basic rules about wild Bison. The owner explained to me that you never attempt to touch them or get much closer than 20 feet. He said they are highly temperamental and unpredictable and that if you ever upset one you will never know what hit you because a Bison is faster than any horse for a quarter of a mile (not that I could outrun a horse anyway!). As we were being escorted to the main house the rancher said, “There are a couple of my biggest old bulls, they go about 2,000 pounds each. You can get out and try to take a photo, but remember, move slowly and don't do anything to upset them.”

As I climbed out of the vehicle I gazed at the gorgeous animals several hundred yards away standing on a rise, watching me walking towards them. I decided I would squat down about 15 feet from a clump of sage brush and wait and see if one of them would walk my way. Within a few minutes one of the large bulls was indeed walking my way, but he stopped behind the sage brush. When he finally came around the sage and begin walking towards me I began taking his picture. My camera is a medium format noisy thing that makes a clunking sound every time you press the shutter release, but I kept taking his photo and he kept on coming! I kept shooting, wanting that special moment, then I felt it, like an electrical current that permeates my entire being…I pressed the shutter release and the bison and I were one with space and time.

From what seemed to be a great distance away, I heard the rancher saying, “You should stand up now and slowly back away from him.” The great bull was no longer moving forward, he was standing quite still, just watching me. As I slowly rose to a standing position I did what came completely naturally for me, I bowed to him as he simultaneously bowed to me, and we both turned and walked calmly away from each other. I felt ecstatic knowing the photo you are now looking at was safely recorded on my film.

As I reached the ranchers truck I looked down at the camera in my hands and saw my focal length at 7 feet. I felt as if the Bison had walked right into my soul.

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