I’ve taken a lot of bison photos over the years. My frequent trips to the Niobrara Valley Preserve have given me extraordinary access to bison in an expansive and gorgeous landscape – something I’m very grateful for. I’ve had one big gap in my bison coverage, though, which is that I have almost no photos of bison in snow. Until now.

While Kim and I were on our holiday break adventure at the Niobrara Valley Preserve in late December, I finally got the chance to hang out with some bison in the snow. As the multi-day snow storm was winding down, I ventured out with the pickup one morning and came upon a small group of bison. The weather was frigid and gusty, but the overcast skies were starting to break up a little and the snow fall had lightened up considerably.

When I first approached them, the bison trotted off over the hill, but not like they really meant it. I let them settle back down and then edged closer with the truck until we reached a tacit agreement that I’d keep a certain distance if they’d resume their grazing. We kept that up for about an hour before I finally backed slowly away and left them quietly munching away in the hills. It was a serene and gratifying experience. I hope you enjoy this selection of photos from that morning.