A Close Encounter of the Wild Kind

One of my early passions was outdoor or landscape photography. I became interested in photography while taking a college class. That led to shooting a fraternity calendar and other subjects. A goal as a professional photographer was to take images of female models. That fit into a career cchoice to be in advertising, marketing, and public relations.

Back to the photograph.

I drove north out of town. My objective was to find an old, dilapidated barn to photograph. Taking dirt back roads and seeking isolated areas, I was either in northwestern Clark County or southwestern Taylor County in Wisconsin. I know I was west of Highway 73 but where…exactly…will likely remain a mystery as someone has probably found and burned or demolished this old barn and shed.

The task as a photographer, was to capture the essence of the building from every possible angle; a tour de force if you will. As I came to the barn on what appeared to be a driveway, I parked away from camera angles and started walking around the building. Since I was using Kodak 35mm film, I only had one roll loaded in my Minolta SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera. I wanted to take my time and check angles before starting to shoot.

The side to the left in the image was obstructed by tree trunks. I came to this side and saw the lighting was right and the subject matter was of interest. I set up to start shooting without a tripod and adjusted my f-Stop and lens. I snapped away, standing, kneeling, sitting, and using other positions to get varying viewpoints.

Of a sudden, while sitting in the cut space between plants in the meadow, I heard an animal coming on an intersecting space. I turned to watch whatever it was come to the intersection…knowing it was certainly a wild animal. I brought the Minolta up to take a picture of it as I could see movement near the intersection.

As I watched, a badger came waddling into the intersection. It turned toward me and stared for what seemed like several minutes but was quick. As soon as the badger realized I was not a threat…or a meal…it waddled on toward the barn. I was out of film!

No picture. Only my recollection of seeing a badger in the wild. And this image to remind me of that memorable encounter so long ago. There is wonder in nature, God’s Kingdom.