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A mother and two cubs looking out over the Torres del Paine.
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- Thread starter pomkiwi
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GregT943
Well-known member
Awesome background, nice shot. The direction of the lighting would have made for a perfect shot if they were looking in the other direction towards you.
IMO this is a rare instance that the animals looking away from the camera works. In the context of the overall image it makes me wonder what they're looking at.
Thank-you. At this point they had no interest at all in looking at us (In general the pumas seem to regard us humans as not worthy of any attention at all). By the time they did turn around they had repositioned somewhat and I had moved as a number of other photographers had converged on my original position as it gave the iconic view of cats with the Torres behind.
I don't find the images I got at that point as strong:
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I actually quite like the composition of the original image which gives the impression of the pumas surveying all of their domain -shades of the Disney version of the Lion King!
Repeat to self: "I am not jealous, I am not jealous, ..."
GregT943
Well-known member
Both are awesome shots. Some photographers would have been very tempted to swap the backgrounds between those two shots with the lighting being so similar. This is a trip I will absolutely need to do someday. I wish there weren't so many (expensive) locations and subjects on my bucket list.
GregT943
Well-known member
What guide service did you use for your days tracking pumas? I just went down a youtube rabbit hole on pumas in Patagonia for the past two hours
ricardo00
Well-known member
There are many photographic trips to Patagonia to see the puma. As with all trips, the price is often dependent upon how many people are in the group they take, how many days one actually has going to see the puma, support services (including the place one stays, food, etc). If you want recommendations for guides, you can PM me. When I went 10 years ago, there were many fewer tour leaders leading groups there. And my understanding is that more of the sightings are on private land whereas when I went we were able to follow the puma at the Torres del Paine National Park. One of the decisions you need to make is what season to go, spring, fall, winter or summer. You might read about the weather patterns during the different seasons. Of course, trying to find a private guide to take one is possible, but my guess is that it would be more expensive then joining a group.
Incredible shots!
He used Far South Expeditions, which is the company I have been looking at and would use.
Puma Tracking in the Torres del Paine, Chilean Patagonia
When I started a topic on lens choices for this trip I was asked to post a brief report on how it went. Here are a few of the practical suggestions I can make: 1. When booking onward flights from Santiago to Punta Arenas or Puerto Natales in Patagonia do book via the Chilean LATAM or SKY...
bcgforums.com
I used Far South. As far as I am aware many companies based outside Chile will use Far South as their local operator.
Far South limit their groups booked through their website to a maximum of six whereas some of the overseas groups can be a lot larger.
Be aware that any guiding or tour within the national park itself is restricted to roads and a few well defined paths.
I covered a bit more about my experience in this report:
In the Shadow of the Torres - finding puma in Chilean Patagonia
This report covers my trip to Patagonia between May 12th and 20th 2024. I'll start the report during the trip partly to make sure I actually do write it and partly because we have nights that are over 15 hours long and I can only fill so much of that time eating and drinking.... I'll start with a...
www.safaritalk.net
Woody Meristem
Well-known member
Wow, the first one is a truly outstanding photograph.
To elaborate on what @pomkiwi said, many foreign operators use Far South (who are based in the area and specialize in Chile and South America). If you do a puma tour booked through a professional photographer or photo company, you will be paying two or three thousand dollars more to subsidize their trip. Of course if you admire that photographer and think their advice will be helpful, then it might be worth it to you. For me it would not be (I like to think I know how to take good photos), but each person needs to decide this for themselves. (Same is true for any destination trip).
ricardo00
Well-known member
Wow that is a great write-up of your trip! Sounds like Far South is definitely a good way to go for a puma trip. I have gone with some photographer guides who were great additions to the trip but others have made the trip worse. And as pointed out, one definitely pays more to have the professional photographer accompany one.I used Far South. As far as I am aware many companies based outside Chile will use Far South as their local operator.
Far South limit their groups booked through their website to a maximum of six whereas some of the overseas groups can be a lot larger.
Be aware that any guiding or tour within the national park itself is restricted to roads and a few well defined paths.
I covered a bit more about my experience in this report:
In the Shadow of the Torres - finding puma in Chilean Patagonia
This report covers my trip to Patagonia between May 12th and 20th 2024. I'll start the report during the trip partly to make sure I actually do write it and partly because we have nights that are over 15 hours long and I can only fill so much of that time eating and drinking.... I'll start with a...www.safaritalk.net
Beautiful shots.