Mountain Lian Peak
This beautiful animal is part of an animal santuary in Montana Called the TripleD Ranch. They treat these animals with the upmost respect and take them out into...
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This beautiful animal is part of an animal santuary in Montana Called the TripleD Ranch. They treat these animals with the upmost respect and take them out into a wild environment and allow you to photograph them. This big Mountain Lion was just curious and playful.
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Oct, 2015Views
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Awards
Action Award
Legendary Award
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Virtuoso
Emotions
Impressed
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I had an opportunity to meet a group of people who love big animals and they have spent their lives protecting them and for a price they take these majestic animals out into the wild so that photographers can capture them in an environment that is natural. This beautiful Mountain Lion was not only curious but playful. After approximately 50 min of watching him roll in the woods, most of the photographers had stopped shooting but I sat quietly waiting to see if he might get up on this rock and look at me. I almost put my camera away when he yawned and then in a most curious manner peaked around the rock and looked right at me. His eyes creeped into the morning light and I captured this image. Out of thousands of images I have taken it still one of my favorite photographs. The company is the Triple D ranch in Montana.Time
It was approximately 7 am in the morning. The dew had just begun to dry. I remember it being warm but cool enough for this cat to be playful.Lighting
The light was broken by trees to my left and this Mountain Lion used the light to warm his body. For the majority of the shoot he climbed in and out of the sunlight stretching like a professional Yoga instructor without a care in the world. His shoulders rolling in and out of the light made his fur look so inviting. When he scratched a tree it was apparent his nails are truly something to respect.Equipment
Nikon D70, Tameron SP 70-200MM F2.8 Lens. Shot with a Unipod.Inspiration
I am a fine artist and I was part of an artist seminar where we photographed and drew these beautiful animals. I wanted to not only get some great images for references for my art, but I have always had a camera in my possession and I am a firm believer that getting great wildlife images takes a lot of work and patience. I felt like this was cheating but it was an amazing experience because these animals are transported to huge land masses that they would be living in the wild. It was an amazing experience, I'll never forget.Editing
None.In my camera bag
I have 3 lenses I swap out. 50 mm lens for portraits or depth images, a 70-200mm for sports and animals in the distance. and finally a Nikon 55-300mm for images of speed. I use a tri-pod 90% of the time when I shoot landscapes or people. I use a unipod for wildlife and sports. It's a comfort issue for me. Im a tall guy so when I get on the ground I need it to be fast and stable.Feedback
I remember some time ago while returning from a 5 hour morning shoot in Yellowstone. I heard some tourists talking about their dissapointment in not seeing animals from the massive porch of the famous Lodge facing the Tetons. They were saying "you'd think they would be feeding on this early morning", and I said well they arent in a zoo, they are wild animals and if you want to see them feeding just get up before the sun and start hiking down into that amazing landscape and you will see them. Getting great animal images even if the Zoo is your only source, takes patience and quite honestly luck. Look at them at angles that are unusual and challenging. Wait behind the lens and do your homework, it will almost always pay off with a wonderful image.
