Bruce County photographer's award-winning grizzly shot featured at the ROM | CBC News (2025)

Michelle Both · CBC

· Posted: Apr 13, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: April 13

When a photographer from Bruce County flew toAlaska for a wildlife photography workshop, she had no idea one of her photos would earn a spot on display at theRoyal Ontario Museum.

Sandra Nelson's shot of two grizzly bears fighting over a bright red salmontook home the grandprize inthe adult category in the 2024 ROM wildlife photo contest.

"I was just astounded that they picked my picture," said Nelson, a retireefrom Tiverton, Ont.

"It's just really exciting, and it's gratifying becauseI enter a lot of contests, and this isthe biggest one that I'veever been successful at."

Nelson took the photo, titled "The one that got away,"while on a week-long wildlife photographytour in Katmai National Park, Alaska, hosted by Art Wolfe Photography in August 2023.

"I loved capturing that and just being able to share those moments of wildanimals andbeautiful things in the world with other people," she said.

Getting close enough to photograph the bears was no simpletask.

On the trip, the group would load up two floatplanes each morningand fly around looking for bears, she said, before landing the plane, then hiking and wading to the prime location.

"We would just sit on the edge of the stream pretty much all day and photograph the bears," she said.

Nelson said they could see as many as 15 bears at once, fishing in the streams for salmon. It was then she saw two bears battling over a single fish.

"It was just a big fight.Alot of water, a lot of splashing.You can see the fish falling back in the water, and I think he got away," she said, which is where the photo got its name.

Coastal grizzlies

Nelson said that being that close to the bears didn't worry her because she was withWolfe, who's been doing wildlife work for decades.

"They really don't pay attention to the people much," she said. "They're just interested in the fish."

Coastal grizzlies,who arehabituated to humans fishing nearby,act quite different than inland brown bears,said LibbyPfeiffer, Art Wolfe photography's event coordinator,who's made the tripseveral times.

LISTEN: Photographer wins top ROM wildlife photography award for grizzly fight shot

"We would never approach anywhere close to inland grizzly bears ... They have a very different temperament than the bearson the coast," she said.

The photography trips to the park are scheduledwhen salmon is making the way up the river, Pfeiffer said.According to park rules, you must keep a specific distancefrom the bears, she said, so photographers bring along their telephoto lenses.

Pfeiffer is "overjoyed" to hear about Nelson's photo award, she said.

"I think it's just fantastic," said Pfeiffer, who is based in Seattle, Wash."As a talented photographer, she did an excellent job of capturing that absolutely sharp [photo],getting everything in detail."

Nelson's passion for wildlife photography has brought her to Antarctica andSouth America, with hopes to travel to Africa, starting in Cape Town, South Africa and working their way up to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and the Chobe River in Botswana.

See more of Nelson's photography onher website.Her photo will be on displayattheWildlife Photographer of the Year 2024 exhibition at the ROM until May 4.

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