MOUNTAIN LION PICTURES
Enjoy these mountain lion pictures that capture this impressive beast in its natural habitat. At the bottom of the page, you will find more details of these magnificent cats, and how climate change is affecting them.
DECORATE YOUR HOME WITH FINE ART PHOTOS
If your home is already decorated with art but you’re looking to add some fine art photos to your collection, we can offer guidance to create a cohesive look, mountain lion art should be considered. What’s your favorite element in your space? Let that be your anchor piece. You can use the base of its color to find complementary images to make the room pop. Another fun way to unite your pieces together is to frame them in the same colors or materials found throughout the room. For example, most of your home decor is influenced by silver or perhaps a wooden accent. You can choose the finish for your fine art photos and possibly mountain lion pics based upon your desired accent to make it feel like it was truly meant to be part of your collection.
MOUNTAIN LION FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOS
Mountain lions prefer to live in solidarity in habitats with dense underbrush and also rocky areas for stalking. However, they are still very capable of sprinting at great speeds when stalking prey isn’t an option.
While it’s an undisputed large animal, it is not always the apex predator in its home range. It can be a very reclusive animal and usually avoids people at all costs. This tactic is great for their conservation and preservation, but unfortunately a hurdle for photographers seeking pictures of a mountain lion. But a little challenge definitely made this online art gallery of mountain lion pictures much better. We also have exhibitions of mountain lion photography where you can view the art first-hand.
PHOTOGRAPHING MOUNTAIN LIONS
We traveled to Chile to capture videos and the perfect mountain lion image for mountain lion art. It was a cold morning, with a chill in the air at about -4°F. We immediately started our trek towards it, hoping to get within the photographing range for our mountain lion pics. After getting close to her, we also realized that she was not alone. She had a male companion with her, which was unexpected and also an uncommon encounter. She kept on walking higher and higher making our climb even more tedious, but we were able to keep up with her effortless trek. When the cats reached the top, they decided to lay down and sleep.
GETTING CLOSE
We stopped about 25 feet away from the duo to try to take pics of a puma. The male mountain lion was not too happy with our presence and kept on looking at us every so often. I can feel it in his mountain lion profile. On his third look, I started to take inventory of my exit options forgetting about my mountain lion photography. I needed to be able to get out of the situation if he suddenly didn’t feel very welcoming toward his uninvited guests.
I was so focused on climbing up in their direction, that I never looked down. When I did for the first time, I realized we were at a 45 degree angle on a Rocky Mountain ledge that was covered with snow and moss. Additionally, we were about 1000 feet off the ground. Not a situation many people find themselves in, but here I was risking my safety to just get a chance to photograph these cats. One wrong move would be fatal for my mountain lion pics, as there was nothing to break my fall on the way down.
At this point, the only thing to do was look at the big cat in the eye and stay calm. After a long nap, she decided to get up and finally pose for my fine art photography. I was happy to indulge in my model’s whims this time for pictures of a mountain lion. Now when people ask “to show me a picture of a mountain lion,” I’m glad to share my collection. Patients and persistence always pay off.
HOW TO TAKE BATTER MOUNTAIN LION PICTURES
Starting off, when it comes to taking mountain lion photos and mountain lion pics it’s important to keep their coat color and environmental color scheme in mind. Be sure to place your mountain lion away from your background. An example of this can be seen in our mountain lion sitting picture titled DECISIONS. Do your best to place it in front of very light or very dark colors, to create a contrast for your mountain lion art. Their fur is a greyish-tan color, and in black and white photography that helps bring out all the subtler tones. This intense contrast and detail from mid-tones help create interest and drama in your photography.
HOW CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTS MOUNTAIN LIONS
Mountain lions everywhere are facing the realities of habitat loss which is resulting in populations decreasing. This can be recounted from as far back as the 1800 and 1900s and people hunted these cats for fear of them picking off livestock. Because of the rising temperatures leading to hotter summers, their primary prey is affected. Deer are threatened by climate change linked to drought and illness, resulting in fewer healthy prey in smaller habitat ranges.
DIFFICULT TO PHOTOGRAPH
My pursuits to create wildlife fine art photography eventually led me to capture pictures of mountain lions in the rugged North American wilderness. The diversity of American wildlife is vast and also beautiful but sadly boasts only a few large predators for mountain lion pics. In fact, the only large cats found in the region are mountain lions. There are many names that these cats go by, namely: mountain lions, cougars, pumas, catamounts, red tigers, and also panthers. Whatever you wish to use, they all refer to the same predator and they make a stunning image for mountain lion art.
I always loved photographing predators, despite much of my work featuring prey animals. Predators present their own unique challenges when it comes to photography. They tend to be elusive and also very intelligent, not easily spotted by the untrained eye. Then, of course, is the potential danger of putting yourself in the presence of an animal that can surely cause you harm. Armed with just my camera equipment and experience, I put a lot of trust in wildlife. I do push the envelope with how close I can get to them. High quality and detailed mountain lion pictures can’t be taken without getting into the animal’s space and also placing yourself in their path. Even from a distance, it can be an adrenaline rush to capture mountain lion photos.
TAKING PICS OF PUMAS
Mountain lion pictures are quite difficult to capture because they are an especially elusive animal. These cats are natives of the Americas. Their habitats range from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes of South America. This is the widest range of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. This large spread of the species is possible only because the mountain lion is an incredibly adaptable species. They’re a generalist species that are able to feel at home in varying environments and conditions. They garnered so many names because this wide range led to different areas developing preferred names for their cats. However, this spread out geography and stealthy behavior doesn’t always work in favor of those trying to track them down for mountain lion photography. Despite the challenge, it was a rewarding experience to capture these mountain lion pictures.
A UNIQUE CAT
The mountain lion is still a very powerful predator with strong hind-legs as seen in our puma image. Mountain lions actually have large paws and proportionally the largest hind legs in the family Felidae. They have this to thank for their great leaping and short sprinting ability.
INTERACTION WITH HUMANS
Fatal attacks on humans are rare but have recently been increasing in North America as more people encroach on cougar territories. These cats are simultaneously threatened by habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, and loss of its prey from recreational hunting and poaching. Human infrastructure and invasion are also threatening their habitats. Particularly, in Florida, mountain lions are threatened by heavy traffic. It is sadly not uncommon for cougars to be involved in fatal car accidents. Furthermore, the constant expansion of highways is creating an insurmountable barrier for cougars. These creatures are finding it harder and harder to freely roam their large territories in order to find prey or mates without crossing humans.
THE SECOND TRIP
My second tip is to always have an experienced and capable tracker on your team. They’ll make your job a lot easier for taking pictures of mountain lions in the long run. Trackers let you focus on the artistic side of the endeavor while they ensure the safety of you and your subjects. Once you or your tracker have spotted your mountain lion, ask your tracker how close you can safely get to the cougar. Get as close as possible without making the cats uncomfortable or putting yourself at risk. Move very slowly and also try to stay calm. It’s also important to keep eye contact with the wildlife at all times. Spend as much time as you need to to get them comfortable with your presence and movements. If you see resistance, move away immediately. Never try to force your presence, it won’t be a fruitful image.
It’s important to remember how agile and fast these cats are. For that reason, it’s advisable to use a very high shutter speed for your image to keep up with their lightning speeds. However, if you’re open to experimenting with shutter speeds, a lower speed can give you a more artistic image.
Follow these steps and you will also be astonished by the mountain lion image you take. If you are interested in purchasing our mountain lion images for sale, feel free to contact us. Our mountain lion pictures to print are available in different sizes to perfectly fit any space in your home. Enjoy the best fine art photography online.
CONSERVATION WITH MOUNTAIN LION PHOTOGRAPHY
Mountain lions are also an endangered species. Firstly, humans have hunted them for their furs, and very often they compete with humans for food. Farmers and livestock ranchers often kill Mountain Lions, because they threaten the farmer’s animals. In addition to all this, CLIMATE CHANGE is becoming a big danger to these big cats. During hot summer, their primary prey — deer — is affected with less water and illness. Mountain Lions that ingest these deer develop further health issues.
As a fashion photographer, I pay the models. In wildlife, I can not pay the animals I photograph. If it were possible to compensate the subjects in my mountain lion images, I would. However, I did find a way to pay them back through my online art gallery. I developed relationships with conservation organizations. Wolf Conservation Center, and also World Animal Protection are organizations doing the important work of fighting for the conservation of animals and their natural environments.
Any photos for sale that you choose to purchase from Ejaz Khan Earth, not only adds an inspiring image of these beautiful creatures to your collection but also helps conserve their species. If you would like to bring a mountain lion image home, feel free to send us a pricing inquiry.
MOUNTAIN LION IMAGE BY EJAZ KHAN
These mountain lion photographs make for ideal wall decor design, for your home, office, and everything in between. They are available to order in a variety of sizes, print material, and framing options. We typically print out photos for sale on Kodak metallic paper which brings life to an image. However we also occasionally print our images on art paper. We’re also happy to frame or put any images on plexiglass at your request. Image quality and trust are integral to us. You can read more about pricing and fine art prints HERE.
Enjoy our newest blog article HOW TO CREATE STUNNING WALL ART WITH WILDLIFE ANIMAL PICTURES
*A percentage of proceeds from Khan’s exhibits and sales goes to foundations that support the awareness and conservation of wildlife.
To see Khan’s fashion photography, please visit ejazkhanphotography.com
View Khan’s directorial feature film vanishingknowledge.com
