These pack trips are designed for riders who want to capture their trophies on film.

“I know several people who are totally against hunting, but they sure would like to go on a hunting trip. They want to see and stalk wildlife, but they don’t want to kill anything.”

Those are the words of Yeldon Mor­gan, the owner of Morgan’s, the fine horse products company in Ellsworth, Nebraska. Yeldon has always been a hunter. He enjoys hunting, but he also enjoys simply seeing and photograph­ing wildlife. “I love pack trips in the mountains,” says Yeldon, “and I can get just as much pleasure from photo­graphing an elk as I do from hunting one.”

In pursuit of that kind of trip, Yeldon contacted his nephew-in-law Rick Felts, who owns and operates Grizzly Ranch, near Cody, Wyoming. Rick is a professional outfitter. In the fall, he guides hunters after deer, elk, antelope, and bighorn sheep, and in the summer he offers pack trips for sightseers, pho­tographers, and fishermen.

“I often tailor my summer and early fall trips to suit the needs of wildlife photographers,” says Rick. “There are plenty of wild animals to see in this area.” Rick can even offer photography trips during the hunting season, because part of his area of operation in­cludes Yellowstone National Park, where hunting is not allowed.

“The best time of all is in Septem­ber,” explains Rick. “The weather is just fantastic because we usually have Indian summer about then. And the elk are bugling. They are easy to find, their antlers are all grown out, and they are really putting on a show.”

Last August, Yeldon and Rick got to­gether for a camera safari into the Washakie Wilderness, just east of Yellowstone. Along for the ride was Bill Davis, an outstanding western and wildlife sculptor who also has a passion for fly fishing.

The trip started at Grizzly Ranch, where Rick and Candy Felts have, over a period of about ten years, built a cozy and hospitable guest ranch. The ranch is surrounded on three sides by national forest, and is picturesque enough to have appeared in one of the Marlboro cigarette ads. In fact, Rick’s horses, mules, and ranch wagon have been used on numerous occasions for the ads, and Rick has often helped find lo­cations and cowboy extras for the Marlboro photographic sessions.

Grizzly Ranch is just about as close to being home as any visitor could want. Rick and Candy are people lov­ers and wonderful hosts. Their seven cabins will accommodate a total of 15 guests, and everyone-guests, guides, wranglers, ranch helpers, and Rick’s own family-dines together at two gi­gantic round tables in the Felts’ dining room.

“We don’t do anything special,” says Rick. “When people come here, they are coming into our home. We sit round at dinner and then visit after­wards; seeing who can tell the biggest lie is our main event. It is a chance for people to relax, to slow down in this fast world we live in.”

For the wilderness trip, Rick drives his guests to the Eagle Creek Camp­ground, a few miles west of his ranch. Eagle Creek is one of the major tribu­taries of the North Fork of the Sho­shone River. The campground is at the mouth of Eagle Creek, and one of Rick’s most popular trips is the ten­ mile ride up this stream to Eagle Creek Meadows.

“There is no way I can describe Ea­gle Creek Meadows,” says Rick. “When you ride up the creek bottom and through those trees, and then fi­nally get to where you’re going, and you break out into that fantastically beautiful meadow, you can understand why people love it so much. But until you actually see it for yourself, you just can’t grasp how wonderful it is.”

Rick owns 30 head of horses and mules, so he is able to outfit any rider with the kind of mount he or she prefers. At the campground, Rick and his wranglers will help each guest get properly mounted, and then the guide, pack mules, saddle horses, and guests splash across the Shoshone and head for the high country.

The trail to Eagle Creek Meadows winds gradually upward through pine and spruce forests, occasionally topping out for splendid views of the Eagle Creek canyon. Along the way, moose and deer are a common sight, and it of­ten takes longer to reach the meadows than is really necessary simply because there are so many photographic oppor­tunities along the way.

And when you get there, Eagle Creek Meadows tops it all off. It is a huge valley-two miles long and 1/2 mile wide-surrounded on two sides by towering, timbered ridges, and on the southwest by snowcapped peaks along the Yellowstone boundary. While guests are busy taking in the splendor of it all, Rick and guide Roy Sanders unload the mules and set up camp.

“When we take a pack trip,” declares Rick, “we take a pretty posh out­fit. We take tents, chairs, tables, foam pads to sleep on, a “potty” tent, and lots of good food. It’s really not much like roughing it. In fact, the only differ­ence between this and camping out of your car is that you go on horseback and you get into much wilder country.”

The meadows are a perfect place for the horseback photographer. Not only are there many opportunities to photo­graph wildlife like moose, deer, elk, and marmots — but the meadow itself is worth several frames. Early in the morning, when the sun is just breaking through the ground mist, elaborate spi­der webs glitter with dew-drops in the tall grass, and brilliant wildflowers cover the ground in carpets of color. Its easy to run out of film long before you expect to.

If, on the other hand, the guest pre­fers hook and line to film and camera, Eagle Creek is a fisherman’s dream. In the course of one day of fly fishing, art­ist Bill Davis waded up the meandering stream and happily caught and released over 200 hard-fighting brook trout.

For visitors who can stay longer, Rick offers a seven-day ride that goes on into Yellowstone Park. “That trip is especially good for fishing,” says Rick, “because we drop right into the head of the upper Yellowstone River. It is un­surpassed for fishing for about a month out of the year, from the 10th of July to the 8th of August. A lot of large trout are spawning then. After that time per­iod, it is done. They all go back to Yel­lowstone Lake.”

You don’t have to go to the park to see wildlife. The Washakie Wilderness is part of what is known as the greater Yellowstone management area. This includes areas of U.S. Forest Service and BLM lands outside of the park. The chances of finding and photographing wildlife are often as good or better than they are inside the park boundary.

Regardless of the reason for going, be it a photographic safari, a fishing trip, a hunting trip, or just a sightseeing tour, guests who have a chance to visit Grizzly Ranch are in for a treat. Rick and Candy really make you feel like you belong there.

Ordinarily, a typical visit to the ranch lasts about five days. Guests can take a pack trip, or day rides, or an over­nighter up Big Creek Canyon, right be­hind the ranch. The Felts will also throw in a one-day van tour of Yellow­stone. “A day-long trip over there is pretty nice, even when the weather is unstable. You see more wildlife on days like that than you do on bright, sunny days.” says Rick.

In addition, they will take guests on into Cody to visit the exciting Buffalo Bill Historical Center and to see the action at the well-produced Cody Nite Rodeo. “We don’t have a big opera­tion,” says Rick, “and we don’t want one. Our guests like the family atmo­sphere around this place. In fact, the people who stay here get to be like part of our family.

“We had people here recently who stayed with us for two weeks. The guy was a lawyer, and his wife was a school teacher. Heck. When they and their three kids left, everybody cried. For two weeks they had lived right with us, just like family. We’ve got guests that have been coming back for four or five years. We are almost closer to them than to some of our own relation, be­cause we get to see them more often.”

Being around Rick is an exuberant experience. He has a great zest for liv­ing and a great sense of humor. His speech and stories are full of humorous phrases. When he introduces you to a group of his cronies, he’ll say some­thing like, “How’d you like to have a pup out of that litter?”

But the most impressive thing is his enormous enthusiasm for what he does. He loves people, he loves animals, he loves working outdoors, and he loves the hard physical work and variety in­volved in owning his own guest ranch. He has to handle about anything. At times he is a farrier, a carpenter, a plumber, a medic, a guide, a wrangler, a nature expert, a businessman, an ac­countant, and a congenial and patient host.

“I like to have a lot of business,” ex­plains Felts, “but I don’t want to get too big. If I did, I’d lose touch with all the stuff that made me want to get into this business in the first place. I don’t ever want to leave it, ever in my whole life, not until I’m at least 128 years old! If I didn’t have to make a living, I’d do all of this for nothing. I love it.”

Another thing Rick likes is that staying small allows him to go on the pack trips. “I don’t go on all of them, but there haven’t been very many of them that left here without me.” Part of Rick’s desire to be along on each trip is that he wants to make sure his guides do things the way he wants them done. Ac­cording to Roy Sanders, who has guided for Grizzly Ranch for several years, Rick is great to work for because he likes to do things properly. Roy ex­plains, “Rick runs a first-class camp. He keeps his equipment in top shape and hates to see anything that looks ratty or shabby. And he’s always look­ing for a better horse or mule.”

The Cody area is perfect for camera hunts. Large game animals are abun­dant, as are many other species, includ­ing waterfowl, hawks and eagles, pas­serine birds, and squirrels and chipmunks. But even without the wild­life, the scenery alone is enough to keep any photographer busy.

Early in the fall is probably the best time to go. The aspens begin to take on their golden mantle, and though the days are still warm, the air is crisp with just a hint of the coming winter. There are animals everywhere. Bears are busily storing fat for a long hiberna­tion, waterfowl are starting to gather for their southern migration, and bu­gling bull elk are battling each other for the right to collect a harem of cows.

This article was originally published in the February 1986 issue of Western Horseman.

Puerto Rican photographer Delana Delgado’s new 35mm and collage works, ‘Around the Way Girl,’ is on display at Gallery 201 at Liberty Station .

Now many photo competitions warm the cockles of heart as of your heart as much as Dog Photographer of the Year. Our four-legged friends not only provide, comfort, joy and a reason to get out of the house, but they make for great subjects too (so long as you’re patient enough). This year’s winners include a disguised Amazakh, a fiercely fashionable poodle, and an elegant Doberman dressed in a tutu.

Split into three categories, the Dog Photographer of the Year Competition showcases the skills, and creative work of dog photographers shot using some of the best cameras mirrorless cameras and DSLRs. The competition is split into four categories Split into four categories: Portraits and Landscapes, Action and, Studio, and Dogs and People. Earlier this year the finalists from each category were announced but after further careful scrutiny by a panel of dog lovers, photographers and founders of the competition Audrey Balot and Claudio Piccoli, the results are in and the winners have been selected. 

First-place winners from each category will each receive a €500 cash prize ($520/£430) , a trophy, a fine art print of their winning photo, photography equipment from Sabatini and Manfrotto, and inclusion in the DPA annual book

Swedish photographer Sanna Sander was awarded first place for her carefully composed image of Ascending Serenity showing a dashing azakwakh posing in front of a similarly colored log stack. 

Grace Fieselman took second place for her image Serene Snowfall taken of the Australian Shepard Nala while first place winner Sanna Sander also claimed the third spot for her image Monochromatic Illusion taken on a snowy morning between two trees just starting to grow back their leaves.

In the Action category, Jacqueline Rùdiger’s capture of a sighthound landed her first place showing her dog’s muscular body making it perfect for speed. Second place was awarded to Canadian photographer Roberta Holden for her well-timed capture Moment of Entry showing the interlay of air, ice and water as a dog jumps while third place went to Anne Laurie Leger for their image of a reflection shot of a do catching a frisbee with a bright orange sunset background. 

Ballerina took the top spot in the studio category for her photo of an elegant Doberman posed in a black tutu, second prize went to Carla Gea Perales for their image of a poodle titled Let’s Dance while third place went to Tiss Bennergärd for a 

A photo inspired by artist Caravaggio featuring a fashion poodle took first place, an elegant black and white capture titled Facing the Immensity Together taken by Emma Gough from New Zealand came second and a portrait of Timber and Kate by Jane Thompson came in third. 

This year’s competition was made possible thanks to Celebra, Profoto (who make some of the best photography lighting kits) and Dog Photography Masters who offer online courses in editing, lighting and shooting dog photos. To see the complete finalist’s gallery find out information on how to enter next year’s competition and discover the back story behind the images, head to the DPA website. 

Check out our top tips for capturing incredible pet portraits at home straight from the professionals