A puma makes her way to a watering hole for a quick drink before continuing on to a kill she had hidden in the grass. Torres Del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second
My guide and I had to climb pretty high up a steep slope to capture images of this puma surveying her territory. She eventually spotted a small group of guanacos and made an unsuccessful run down the hill. I was hoping to get her positioned on the ridge line, but that wasn’t to be. Fortunately, however, my high vantage point did enable me to capture the distant snow capped mountains in the backdrop, giving a sense of the Patagonian landscape in which these amazing cats thrive. Being springtime for us, it was fall for the southern hemisphere and you can see all the rust-colored leaves dotting the mountainsides.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1600th of a second
As I mentioned recently, guanacos can be great subjects, especially when framed within the landscape of Torres Del Paine in Patagonian Chile. The early morning light was hitting these two with direct light while the massive face of that mountain in the background was in shadow, and partially obscured by fog and clouds.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/1600th of a second
This puma was moving stealthily below a ridge, out of sight of the guanaco up on the hill. Eventually the guanaco caught wind of the puma and made a dash for it in the other direction. The puma, unfazed, continued on her way, as she had already made a kill and was on her way back to it for dinner. Pumas, however, are opportunistic hunters and had the guanaco been completely fooled, there would most likely have been an attempt at a second kill.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 220mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/500th of a second
I saw lots of these raptors in Chile. This is the southern crested caracara, formerly thought to be the same species as the northern crested caracara. The northern species ranges as far north as the extreme southern portions of the US, whereas this guy can be found from mid Brazil on down to the tip of South America. For this image, I was able to capture a bit of the fall colors — in the top third of the frame — that defined much of the landscape en route to Torres Del Paine.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 800, f/5 at 1/1250th of a second
As I mentioned previously, the guanacos on my Chilean trip were great subjects due to their iconic shape and the fact that they were so ubiquitous throughout Torres Del Paine National Park. I photographed this one late in the day while waiting for the puma that I posted on Monday to get back to her kill.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/4000th of a second
We tracked this puma for about half a mile as she slowly made her way back to a kill that she had hidden in the grass earlier in the day, or perhaps the night before. She got a bit ahead of me, but I was still able to get a few of Torres Del Paine’s majestic peaks in the background.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 120mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second
I photographed a few of these guys in the Falklands and then saw them again on this most recent trip to Patagonia. This one was spotted just north of Punta Arenas, Chile on our way to Torres Del Paine. A bit of a rear view here, but the entire breast is that red color that you see on the face.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second
This pair of gray foxes were taking a morning rest in Torres Del Paine. We would see them again later that morning, attempting to grab all they could of a puma’s kill before the rightful owner returned to claim her property.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 260mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/2000th of a second
As soon as I saw this puma about to make a run at a group of guanacos, I quickly lowered the shutter speed of my camera by closing down the aperture, and I steadily tracked along with her. Unfortunately for the puma, her effort went unrewarded as the faster guanacos all got away. As for me, I was able to caputure a nice series of motion blurred images. I’ll post a few of the others in the future.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/22 at 1/13th of a second