24 Nov Images of the West: ‘The Buffs’

Over the past 40 years of photographing wildlife throughout the American West, I have always returned to the American buffalo, or bison. To me, the “buffs” are the very heart of the West. When I’m lucky enough to spend time with them, I feel like I’m meditating, finding a space where everything is right again. I believe that buffs can heal the land and its people. So, I’ll happily continue to spend as much time as I can with the ever-growing number of them in the places I love, where they share the expansive landscape with birds aplenty, ungulates big and small, and the carnivores that hunt them all.

WOLF EYES | COLORADO | WINTER 1995

SOLITUDE | GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK | WINTER 2014

WINTER TRAVELERS | YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK | WINTER 2001

LITTLE HAWK | UTAH | WINTER 2021

EYE OF THE STORM | COLORADO | WINTER 1995

MAGPIE SALUTE | UTAH | WINTER 2018

SNOW MASK | YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK | WINTER 2023

Photographer Gary Crandall is renowned for his striking and intimate animal portraiture, particularly his affectionate focus on “the buffs.” Yet, it was his passion for birds that initially led him into photography. Originally from Montclair, New Jersey, Crandall’s journey took him westward in the late 1970s, where he discovered a profound love for the Rocky Mountains’ wildlife. Since then, he has dedicated himself to capturing and documenting these cherished creatures we all hold dear.