Page 7 of Capture the Moment
“Thank you, Coop.”
The small man popped out from behind a parked car to shush them. “Do. You.Mind.”
Kate’s eyes went wide. Where did he come from? He must have followed them! Ranger Cooper—Coop—exchanged an amused glance with Kate.
“I’ll leave you both,” he whispered, “to your photographs.” And off he went up the road.
Kate watched him for a while. She couldn’t say why, but he intrigued her. The morning sun created a silhouette shadow of him, his ranger hat clearly delineated. Intuitively, she lifted her camera to take a few shots of him. In her mind popped the perfect caption for this photograph: “Morning rays and ranger ways.”
Kate never planned to become known as “the zoo photographer with a twist” but that’s exactly what happened after she started sharing her quirky captions on Instagram. She stumbled onto her own niche without even realizing it. One of her favorites was a close-up of a mule deer, in which she captured its head in a curious tilt. Her caption: “I’m all ears.” Then there was the rare Soay sheep, staring directly at the camera with a knowing gaze, captioned “I like ewe.” Her snowy owl, featuring the bird’s perpetually annoyed facial expression (as all owls seemed to have, in Kate’s opinion), was captioned with a cheeky “When you don’t give a hoot.” These little captions brought her photographs to life, giving each animal a unique voice and personality. The zoo loved it.
Her boyfriend, Oliver, kept insisting that she should launch a line of greeting cards, that she could make a fortune. Nice thought, but Kate’s ambition had nothing to do with money. She was driven by the desire to capture extraordinary moments. And this week, she had her sights set on capturing the iconic 399 in a photograph that would truly stand out. Touch people’s hearts. Make them realize why wildlife was such a treasure, so worth protecting.
Somehow, someway, she was determined to getthatshot.
She glanced up the road at Ranger Cooper, wondering if he might return to Oxbow Bend at dusk later today. She thought she might come back to see that mirrorlike reflection of Mount Moran in the river. Shifting her focus to the river, she waited for the morning’s wildlife to appear.
The sun continued its ascent, casting a warm glow over Oxbow Bend. After leaving that amber-haired zoo photographer—man, she was cute, really cute—Coop strolled along the riverbank, keeping a watchful eye on the photographers scattered around. The bald eagle had arrived at its nest with a fish in its talons, no doubt making the day for that photographer hiding in the bush. Two otters floated along the river on their backs. He thought he saw some movement upriver and lifted his binoculars. A coyote was traversing the sandy beach, slipping in and out of the willows, looking for breakfast. It wasn’t common to see coyotes here, and it crossed his mind to tip Kate Cunningham off to its appearance. He shook off that thought. Don’t be a sucker for a pretty girl, he told himself. It wasn’t his responsibility to help a photographer nail a shot. His job was to protect them from getting eaten by unpredictable wildlife. Better still, to protect the wildlife from overly enthusiastic shutterbugs.
As he rounded a bend, he spotted a face he recognized—a lanky kid with an unruly mop of hair tied by a red bandana and a perpetual look of cynicism etched on his face. Frankie, his roommate. Sent by his government-employed father to enjoy a free summer in the park.
“Frankie,” Coop called, waving him over. “What are you doing here?”
Frankie ambled toward Coop. “The drill sergeant told me to shadow you.”
Drill sergeant? “Oh, you mean Tim Rivers? He’s supervising the YCP? I thought there was a designated ranger to oversee it.”
“Apparently, there’s been budget cuts this year, so Ranger Rivers volunteered to pull double duty.”
That sounded like Tim Rivers. It also sounded like the NPS. Despite skyrocketing visitations to many of the parks, it hadn’t translated into much of an increase in federal funding to maintain and staff them.
Still, it might’ve been nice to know that Tim was assigning this kid to shadow Coop. “Did Tim say if you’re assigned to me just for today? Or every day?”
“Dunno.” Frankie shrugged. “Ranger Rivers said you’re on the lookout for rogue photographers.”
“More like wildlife enthusiasts who turn rogue.”
The kid rubbed his hands together. “Now that sounds more like it! What’s on the agenda?”
For the first time, Coop saw a spark of interest in Frankie’s eyes. He explained his tasks for the day, which included monitoring wildlife activity, checking designated trails, and ensuring photographers maintained a safe distance. Frankie listened with a mix of skepticism and genuine interest, occasionally interjecting sarcastic remarks. Their banter continued until they reached a high vantage point overlooking Oxbow Bend. Coop pointed out key spots for monitoring wildlife and ensuring the safety of the photographers.
As they walked, Coop shared some insights about wildlife behavior and the delicate balance between allowing visitors to appreciate nature and ensuring the safety of both humans and animals. “Take this morning,” he said, turning back to where Kate Cunningham stood behind her tripod. “That woman over there is new to wildlife photography, and she thinks she’s going to get a winning shot of Grizzly 399.”
Frankie’s eyes almost bugged out of his head. Then he whistled two notes, one up, one down. “Aww. Yeah!”
Coop frowned. So maybe he had noticed Kate’s attractiveness. “Her looks aren’t important.”
“Dude.” Frankie snorted. “There’snothingmore important than how a girl looks.”
Coop shot him a look of disdain. “The point I was trying to make is that she might be unaware of danger. Her entire experience with wildlife is based on photographing animals in a zoo. Yet she’s convinced she’s going to get a shot of 399 that’s new. Something different than any other photographer has gotten.” Sorta sweet. Naive, but sweet.
Frankie hadn’t stopped gawking at Kate Cunningham. “I think I might be in love with her.”
Coop ignored him. “So our job is to keep people like her from getting maimed or killed.”
“The drill sergeant described our role very differently.”
Our role.That sounded like Frankie would be shadowing Coop for more than one day. “How so?”
