Salmon Swatter by Jenaya Launstein
Jenaya Launstein’s "Salmon Swatter" Awarded in International Competitions
We are delighted to share that Jenaya’s stunning panorama of a Grizzly Bear swatting at a salmon has been commended in the 2014 Young Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition and 2016 Memorial Maria Luisa International Photo Contest!
These competitions receive tens of thousands of entries from around the globe, and the caliber of images are nothing less than incredible, so this is a tremendous honour to say the least!
“Salmon Swatter” is a favourite in our Wildlife Art Gallery and wherever it has been shown. It was released as a large format Fine Art Limited Edition Print in July, 2016 and is available in a range of sizes and mediums.
The Story Behind “Salmon Swatter”
The image was made just a few days before Jenaya captured her wildly popular image of a wild Yukon porcupine, which won the 2013 Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards as Youth Photographer of the Year and went onto two year-long exhibitions at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. as well as being selected for the inaugural exhibition at the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum.
In 2011, Jenaya was awarded air travel to the Yukon Territories as part of a prize package in winning the Western Heritage Values photography competition. Jenaya and John flew to Whitehorse in September, 2012, and headed over to SE Alaska for the first portion of the trip. After consistently successful days in the field, morning broke on the last day of their time in the region around Haines, Alaska with a soaking rain.
They decided they should spend the last few hours in Alaska on the Chilkoot River before heading up to Kluane National Park in the Yukon for the remainder of their trip. The overcast skies and rain helped saturate the colours in the beautiful coastal habitat, and when Jenaya spotted this beautiful Grizzly on the opposite bank of the river, they knew they had made the right decision.
“This handsome bear was fishing along the edge of the river when he suddenly spotted a passing salmon,” Jenaya recounts. “With a swoop of its paw, the grizzly swatted at the fish, and I squeezed the shutter as the water flew.”
One of Jenaya’s favourite aspects to the resulting image is something she wasn’t paying much attention to at the time, but it ended up being an important part of the story.
“I really like how I captured the gull striking a pose in the frame,” she shares, “and I think the foliage in the background is beautiful.”
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To inquire about reserving an Artist’s Proof or one of only 50 Limited-Edition Prints of this special piece, give us a call or simply fill out the inquiry form below! If you are in southwest Alberta, please drop in and view this beautiful print in person in our Wildlife Art Gallery in the Crowsnest Pass.
To learn more about Jenaya and her remarkable accomplishments in wildlife photography, please drop by her bio page. You can also work through a short timeline of highlights in Jenaya’s journey as a photographer on our About The Launstein Family page.
Finally, don’t forget you can follow the Launsteins’ photographic adventures on Twitter @LaunsteinFamily, as well as follow Jenaya @JenayaLaunstein.