My what cute teeth you have!
This blog is all about cute photos. I think it’s my daughter’s influence.
Just another cute and friendly grizzly cub.
Whenever I ask whether she likes one of my photos, she understands the question. It’s not one of those biased “do you like my new hair style” queries with only one acceptable answer. I may be a bit odd that way but I really want to know she thinks. (For the record, this has nothing to do with being a guy.)
Sometimes she likes the images and sometimes she doesn’t. I try not to take it personally (kidding!). It often leads to interesting discussions on preferences since she has good ideas about photography.
After listening to her responses over many years, it finally occurred to me that when she likes a photo, she always responds the same way. “That’s so cute.”
Initially I was confused since I didn’t ever recall asking anything about cute. After thinking about it, I now understand that’s just another way of saying I like the photo. This description has absolutely nothing to do with gender or any dictionary definition of cuteness.
Now that we have cleared all that up, what do you think of the cute photos in this post?
Maybe this wolf could be a bit cuddly too. Who knows?
Krahnpix 
No, to my eye, they are not ‘cute’ but it is worth taking the time to understand your daughter’s definition and that it promotes discussion..Seeing the wolf eye between the grasses gives a sense of being in the wold and catching a “glimpse.”
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Words can have such different meanings which can add to confusion in all realms of life.
I wasn’t so sure about that wolf photo initially but it really has grown on me for the reasons you mentioned.
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Heh, I use the term “cute” similarly… Everything is cute / adorable to me, including the gators I nearly step on and the snakes in my path. 🙂 These images are just amazing, though — those eyes are incredible.
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I figured there was more people out there like that. Gators and snakes would definitely be on the edge of my idea of cute but hold a special beauty all their own.
Glad you liked the photos. The eyes definitely have it.
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The eyes have it! How fierce the look. Early one morning last week I was out back before the sun came up and caught a glimpse of some suburban wildlife. Developers have left the natural habitat of all sorts of animals in a shambles around here. It was a fox, slinking down the side of our house. Over the cool, wet grass it crept, making its way between a pile of bricks and the air conditioner before slipping through my neighbor’s fence. I thought to myself, “how cute”. It probably wouldn’t have been “cute” if I’d tried to approach it. Most excellent shots.
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I’d stick with the cute moniker in any case!
It really is amazing how animals life foxes can still survive in areas where humans have taken over. They are much more adaptable than us.
Glad you liked those eyes. They continue to fascinate me.
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I say cute if I like something as well. However my husband always says cute means ‘adorable but ugly’ 😉
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That’s funny! We all get stuck in some definition of a word and don’t let go easily. And the same conversations repeat. Never surrender.
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I’ve noticed a trend among the biologists I know. If they work on something that is conventionally “cute,” like something small and fuzzy and mammalian, they tend to get offended if you call the animal cute, and insist that it is not. If they work on something NOT traditionally cute, like a snake or spider, they will call their study animals cute all the time. My advisor likes to point to my photos of new-hatched juncos, in their naked pink transparent skin and bulging eyes, and say “Now, would you say they are cute?” because she knows I’ll answer in the affirmative and then she can laugh at me.
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What a great story! That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Stick to calling them cute!
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OK, the griz teeth are giving me the creeps…
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I’d hate to leave with you with a wrong impression of that wonderful little guy. Believe it or not, this was the same bear that is in these photos https://krahnpix.com/2012/06/22/the-grizzly-has-a-name/
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Well my opinion may be a bit skewed since I often think alligators are cute, so I like all these ‘cute’ critters very much. I’m thinking the wolf really does it for me though.
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I had a feeling that might be the case when you referred to a bison cow in one of my photos as a real looker. Cute gators it is! Imagine a gator and wolf in the same shot!
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I’m thinking the wolf with cuddly teeth would make a great Krahn family pet. Funny how we often think of the most ferocious predators as cute, especially the cubs.
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I’m happy to keep the wildlife in the great outdoors and the pets in other’s homes. Amusingly, I was just thinking today that I have more fear of getting attacked by large, unruly dogs than wild animals.
You make an excellent point about ferocious cuteness. I’m doing my best to strip what little meaning is left in that word.
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Cute? I wouldn’t call any of your subjects in this posting “cute,” but given your proven predisposition for pursuing predators, Lyle, that’s not really what I would expect from your incredible wildlife shots. I continue to be amazed by your ability to capture action shots that really highlight the personalities of the creatures that you photograph. It’s tough enough to get record shots of these animals and birds, but you go way beyond that. I look forward to hearing more about your encounters that resulted in these wonderful images.
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That alliteration really hit the mark. I may have to use that somewhere!
I appreciate your comments about personality. They really do have a lot of it and I feel particularly blessed when I am able to capture some of that.
The wolf and coyote stories are on their way. Stay tuned …
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Love the bear image.
Looks like it is looking straight at you and connecting with your camera lens. I like photos that draw the eye into the frame and ‘connect’. So many people can’t understand this connection and say a ‘photo is just a photo.’ Good photos make your think (beyond what you see in the frame). Great photos inspire and cross over the barriers of race, religion, country and around the world. They reveal the beauty in the everyday we take for granted.
Perhaps some terrorists, (for example), need to look at some great images of the people and cultures behind the target of their actions.
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That was a special bear. What a great time with a wonderful subject.
I like your definitions of good and great photos. The connections I have with photos are powerful and I almost feel sorry for those who see “just photos.”
Bombing terrorists with photos – that’s innovative!
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I sure want a long lens. Great pictures.
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I hope you can get one. That is the one piece of equipment that makes a big difference. Glad you liked the photos.
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Oy. I think that the ability to create photographs like this is on a single level with musical and poetic composition as well as painting. I admire your talent!
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Thanks so much. High praise indeed. I never thot it in those terms I only pursue photography because I enjoy it. Or as Guy Tal once said – photography was the only art form that he was good at.
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The photos are beautiful, and I am always amazed at the images you are able to capture! “Awesome” a more accurate descriptor, I think.
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I appreciate your regular encouragement. I think this post might be one of my all-time favourites since it brings back three absolutely amazing wildlife encounters. I only hope it happens again.
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I often describe myself as an old curmudgeon and I think I can add to my qualifications when I say that I am not feeling much cutesies in there shots, as good as they are.
The wolf’s yellow eye is quite arresting.
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That’s the beauty of having my own blog – so I can make stuff up! As for the curmudgeon part, I’m working on my own qualifications.
That wolf encounter was amazing and I will tell the story in a future post. I was so happy to catch that eye between the branches. It’s often those little things that make so much difference either way.
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Great shots, and the Grizzly is my favourite. I don’t think he would appreciate being cuddled though. 🙂
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I’m actually surprised I got one photo of that cub that looks a bit fierce. Most of the time, he looked so friendly.
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I’d say they’re amazing.
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I keep pinching myself that I was there to get those opportunities. Thx.
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“Cute” for me has the connotation that includes “cuddly”… The subjects, no doubt, have passed through cute and cuddly to another phase of their being… perhaps “confrontational” or some such thing. I like the images–they remind me why I don’t really want to be on the menu of these higher level carnivores! Good images leave me with material to think about after viewing them. These pass that test well. They also don’t draw attention to the photographer but the subject–well done (with one proviso, I do get to wondering about the escape plan…)
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These images were part of three most amazing encounters that I will never forget. There is just something special about these higher level carnivores. They have remarkable presence and charisma for me and I was so pleased to be able to capture these images.
And not to worry, the escape plan was well covered …
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