a grizzly bear in Grand Teton National Park fending off ravens from a bison carcass

A grizzly fends off ravens from a bison carcass in Grand Teton National Park. Find out how Charlie Hamilton James got this shot. 

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Photographer Charlie Hamilton James on Yellowstone

An award-winning wildlife photographer goes to perilous lengths.

9 min read
Charlie Hamilton James is one of six photographers who contributed to  National Geographic magazine's special issue on Yellowstone. Learn about the other five at  natgeo.com/yellowstone.

Since photographing otters with his first camera, Charlie Hamilton James admits, he’s been an “otter nut.” One day during the year he spent in the Yellowstone area, Hamilton James got a call from a friend with a pond on his property: “Get here now. The otters are here.” He grabbed his dry suit, his underwater camera, and the weight belt he’d last used in the ocean.

At the site, “I jumped in the pond and sank straight to the bottom,” says the award-winning wildlife photographer. He had too much weight on the belt—but chances to photograph wild otters underwater are scarce, and he was determined. So he struggled to the surface, gulped air, and then sank again, repeatedly.

“Every time I got to the bottom, the otters swam down to hang out with me,” Hamilton James says. “As an encounter, it’s incredibly rare.” But, he admits, “it was ruined by the fact that I was trying not to drown.”

two North American river otters in Wyoming
North American river otters, Snake River, Wyoming
two otters swimming in Ely Springs, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
North American river otters, Ely Springs, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
bison and elk at the National Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyoming

Bison and elk share winter ranges in Greater Yellowstone—these are in the National Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyoming. 

a cougar near Grand Teton National Park

A cougar, photographed by a camera trap along a busy game trail above the Buffalo Fork River near Grand Teton National Park

a black bear near Grand Teton National Park

A camera trap image of a black bear near Grand Teton National Park

a mule deer near Grand Teton National Park

A camera trap image of a mule deer near Grand Teton National Park

a beaver at Grand Teton National Park

After being nearly eradicated by trappers in the mid-1800s, beavers are making a comeback in the West, including in Grand Teton National Park. 

a beaver in Grand Teton National Park

The interior of a beaver lodge in Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton cutthroat trout in the Gros Ventre River

Cutthroat trout, seen here spawning in the Gros Ventre River, are highly prized by anglers. 

swimming loons in Wyoming

Young common loon chicks rest on the back of their mother at Yellowstone National Park. 

a Grand Teton National Park weasel blending into the snow
A weasel blends into snow in Grand Teton. In spring it will molt and turn light brown. Cutthroat trout, seen here spawning in the Gros Ventre River, are highly prized by anglers. Adapted to cold water, they’re threat - ened by a warming climate—and in Yellowstone Lake, by non-native lake trout. 
a wolf in Grand Teton National Park

A lone member of the Phantom Springs wolf pack stands tall in Grand Teton National Park. 

an elk in the snow near Jackson, Wyoming
A male elk surveys his winter domain, the 24,700-acre National Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyoming. 
skiers near Yellowstone on a chairlift at Snow King Mountain in Jackson, Wyoming

A chairlift carries skiers up Snow King Mountain in Jackson, Wyoming. 

a Grand Teton National Park tourist taking a photo of a sign
Glaciers in Grand Teton National Park are shrinking, as they are around the planet. Meanwhile tourism is growing: In 2015 record numbers visited both Grand Teton and Yellowstone, its neighbor to the north. The parks attract an increasingly diverse array of international travelers.
a moose in the Buffalo Fork River near Grand Teton National Park

A moose fords Buffalo Fork River near Grand Teton. 

See more from Charlie Hamilton James on Instagram and his website.