Randall Ball Photography

03/08/2026

A Queen upon her throne. Hear her roar.

Happy International Women’s Day.

03/04/2026

World Wildlife Day

“In the end, we will conserve only what we love.”

All images ©️Randall Ball

02/28/2026

Happy International Polar Bear Day. The largest apex predator of the Arctic.

Here’s something most people don’t realize:

Polar bears are one of the only animals on Earth that may actively hunt humans. They don’t automatically fear us.

In much of the Arctic, polar bears have had very little historical exposure to people. Because of that, they don’t instinctively see humans as dominant threats and that lack of built-in fear changes the dynamic entirely.

They are true apex predators, relying almost exclusively on meat — primarily seals.

They are engineered for the hunt: They can track scent for miles, even detecting seals beneath snow and ice. Polar bears will stalk with patience and precision over long distances and they will wait motionless at seal breathing holes for the right moment to strike.

On the open tundra, a lone human moving across the landscape can resemble prey.

And in their world, we are not automatically off the menu.

So when it comes to bears, remember - If it’s black, fight back! If it’s brown, stay down! If it’s white…Good night! 🐻‍❄️

02/24/2026

Frozen

Try slowing down your shutter speed the next time you’re out shooting while the snow is falling and you have a stationary subject. Instead of freezing every flake into sharp white dots, a slower shutter — around 1/30 to 1/125 — allows the snow to blur slightly as it falls. That subtle motion keeps it from looking like random white specks scattered across your frame and instead gives the scene a sense of atmosphere and movement.

You’re no longer just documenting snowfall — you’re starting to add emotion to it. The subject stays sharp, but the snow carries energy. It adds mood, direction, and depth, transforming a quiet winter portrait into something that feels alive.

Sometimes it’s not about stopping motion — it’s about letting just enough of it happen.

Nikon D850
AF Nikkor 200-400mm, f/4
Nikkor TC 1.4x
f/5.6 @ 1/60, ISO 180

02/23/2026

🦅🏅🦅🏅 congrats to the Men’s & Women’s US Olympic Ice Hockey Teams on their gold medals! 🇺🇸🦅

02/18/2026

Crash Course

Bighorn Ram, Yellowstone, NP. Those horns can weigh close to 30 pounds. That’s like carrying almost 4 gallon jugs of water on your head… all day… every day. And they just keep growing year after year. They say you can actually age a ram by counting the rings on his horns like a tree.

When two of these gladiators square up during the rut? They can hit each other at 30–40 mph. Full speed. Head first. And somehow just walk it off.
Yellowstone doesn’t build anything soft.

02/01/2026

Don’t pet the fluffy cows. You’ve been warned.

Bison do not want to be pet.
Bison do not want to be hugged.
Bison do not want to pose with you for a social media selfie.

What they want is for you to keep your distance. When you don’t, these 2,000 pounds of a kinetic event wrapped in a fluffy coat perform an extremely fast, physics-based correction to poor decision-making at 30 mph.

Respect the fluff.

01/28/2026

The Indomitable

This wasn’t about freezing the bison in mid-step—it was about showing what it felt like out there. Once you really get to know your technical aspects of your camera and fundamentals of exposure you get the freedom to break the rules on purpose. I intentionally slowed the shutter and panned with him, letting the snow and wind blur while keeping his body grounded. A perfectly sharp frame would’ve missed the point. Sometimes motion blur tells the story better, because it shows the cold, the wind, and that steady, unbothered push forward. Knowing when to let go of technical perfection is just as important as knowing how to achieve it.

01/18/2026

Thank you to Blackrapid.com for featuring me in their Photographer Spotlight this month! Always been a fan of their camera straps!

https://www.blackrapid.com/blackrapid-spotlight-randall-ball/

Randall Ball is an internationally award-winning wildlife and fine-art photographer with a background as a U.S. Marine combat photographer and former FBI

01/03/2026

I learned today that Craig is gone.

Born in 1972, Craig was one of Africa’s last true super tuskers—an elephant whose ivory nearly touched the ground, representing a genetic legacy that is almost gone. He survived the worst decades of poaching and grew old because he was protected, respected, and allowed to live his life on his own terms in Amboseli National Park.

I photographed him there, and it never felt like photographing just an elephant, it was more like witnessing a living mammoth. He was breathtaking. A presence. A living reminder of what elephants once were across East Africa—and what we still stand to lose.

Craig mattered because he endured. Because people from around the world saw him and understood what conservation can protect. Because his existence gave hope that giants could still walk freely.

1972–2026
Rest easy, old bull.
You were a legend.

12/22/2025

I want to offer a heartfelt thank you to everyone who purchased one of my calendars and helped support the work of the ALS Association.

ALS is a devastating disease that affects the nerve cells responsible for controlling muscle movement, gradually taking away a person’s ability to move, speak, and breathe. There is currently no cure. The ALS Association is on the front lines—funding critical research, advocating for patients and families, and providing care and resources to those living with this disease every day.

Because of your generous purchases, I was able to donate $1000 (after production costs) directly to support their mission. That means real dollars going toward research, patient services, and hope for better treatments and, ultimately, a cure.

This project was never just about calendars—it was about using photography as a way to contribute to something bigger. I’m deeply grateful to everyone who helped turn this effort into meaningful support for the ALS community. Thank you for standing with those affected by ALS and for helping push this mission forward.

I’m also very grateful for the continued support of my work, but even more grateful that together we could contribute to a cause that needs visibility, funding, and hope. Thank you for being part of that—and for proving that art can do more than hang on a wall.

12/16/2025

Honored to share that my series Ghosts of the Arctic received an Honorable Mention in the Wildlife (Pro) category of the 2025 World Photo Annual. Grateful for the recognition, especially in the company of such incredible world talent in this year’s competition.

The images in this series were created in Churchill, Manitoba during Polar Bear Week It’s the time of year when the bears gather along Hudson Bay, waiting for the ice to form so they can finally head out to hunt again. You feel that anticipation everywhere—bears pacing the shoreline, resting in snow drifts, sparring to pass the time.

Photographers travel from all over the world to witness this moment. To stand in that wind, watching these animals navigate the last days before the freeze, is something you don’t forget. The bears don’t just appear—they rise through the blowing snow like ghosts, powerful and patient, living on the edge of a season that decides everything.

I wanted my series Ghosts of the Arctic to hold onto that feeling: the stillness, the tension, the resilience, and the fragile beauty of a species waiting for the world to freeze.

Thank you again to the judges at reFocus Awards for selecting my images to among such prestigious work submitted this year.