ARTIST: Blake Ballard

from Kentucky Homes & Gardens July/August 2021

by Kentucky Homes & Gardens

Casa de Colina: The Hill House

ARTIST Connections Capturing

in Nature

By Heather N. Russell-Simmons Photos by Blake Ballard

1

1 After moving to Laramie, WY in 2020, Kentucky native Blake Ballard embraced her dream to become a wildlife photographer.

Blake Ballard grew up in Mt. Sterling, Ky. where she first developed an interest in photography. Although she dreamed of pursuing the art form as a professional career, she listened to the voice of self-doubt that told her being a photographer was not practical. Instead, Ballard worked in the construction industry where she ran a fabrication company that designed kitchens and baths. It wasn’t until she got married that Ballard listened to another voice, one telling her to pursue her dream.

That voice belonged to Ballard’s wife. “When my wife’s job as an assistant professor brought us to Wyoming, we began a new chapter in our lives,” said Ballard. “She was persistent that I give photography a shot. She just kept saying, ‘If it doesn’t work out, then we’ll just have a really good camera for our adventures.’”

Ballard’s adventures include searching for wildlife such as eagles, foxes, moose and bears in the plains of her home in Laramie. “Animals are exactly who they are, all the time. They don’t put on a show for the camera,” Ballard said of her favorite subjects. “A momma bear doesn’t love on her cubs until you get the right photograph, she loves on her cub because that’s what she does.”

Capturing that kind of authentic, motherly connection interests Ballard. “For many years, I have been fascinated with a bear who lives in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park,” Ballard said of a popular grizzly with multiple social media accounts followed by enthuasists. Tagged by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, an interdisciplinary group responsible for longterm monitoring and research efforts on grizzly bears, Grizzly Bear 399 has raised 16 cubs and grandcubs. “She is one of the oldest known grizzlies who has given birth to several sets of triplets, and most recently quadruplets which is rare because most grizzlies have twins,” said Ballard.

Not long ago, Ballard had the honor of seeing 399 when she and her wife took a trip to the Tetons. “Day one, we hadn’t been in the area ten minutes when we pulled upon photographers out with their tripods. I asked what they were looking for, and was told me that 399 and her four cubs had been seen about 200 yards away.” Ballard knew her odds of photographing 399 were slim, but she had to try. “Within minutes, there was 399 and her four cubs,” Ballard recalled. “Right out of the wooded area, into an open prairie in front of the Tetons to play with her cubs and forage for root.”

Ballard understands the emotional connection she feels to 399. “My mom died when I was 24, and I wish I had a million more photos with her.” Although Ballard took 300 images of 399 and her cubs that day, she understands the balance in capturing a moment and missing the moment. “My family will tell me to put the camera down, but I stay in the moment by taking pictures. That’s when I feel most present and centered.”

While watching birds fly above during a peaceful afternoon in her backyard, Ballard grabbed her camera and caught what would become one of her favorite images. “It’s two common grackles, as if they are talking to each other in the photo,” she said. “I shoot because it forces me to look at things harder; to see things through others eyes. My hope is that my images will also bring others a different perspective of seeing things.”