Rainbow Dreams

Sometimes, when photographing wildlife, the elements come together in the most magical ways. While on a trip to Norway to photograph musk ox, I was fortunate enough to find nearly three dozen of them on the final day of the fall mating season. We spent the morning and afternoon with a handful of them as they grazed and roamed through the lichen-covered valleys and rolling hills of Dovrefjell National Park. That afternoon as we searched for more ox, a rain shower rolled in. Just as it began to clear, a break in the clouds produced a brilliant rainbow over a nearby hill. To my surprise, a lone cow musk ox appeared right at the top of the hill—perfectly placed beneath the rainbow. Too far for a good photograph, I immediately dropped my gear and sprinted uphill to get a better angle for a photo. With my heart pounding, legs burning and lungs screaming for air, I was able to capture this once-in-a-lifetime image just moments before the rainbow faded away.