I arrived in Santiago 2 days before my trip start date. I like to have a break from the two flights required for me to get to Punta Arenas from New York. I usually fly out of JFK to get a non-stop flight to Santiago. The hotel in Santiago is convenient and familiar. In the morning after a nice rest, I fly to Punta Arenas. I know I could fly directly to Punta Arenas or even Puerto Natales with a Santiago layover but again, it’s all part of the slower pace I like to set for myself on longer journeys.
Once I got to Punta Arenas, I walked around by the water, had a leisurely dinner and spent the night. In the morning, we headed out on our road trip to Torres de Paine. We stopped midway for a nice lunch and a cappuccino.
The group was a good one. Lots of returning clients that have become friends over the years. Donna Bourdon, Beverly Still, Harold Klein, Kitty Kono, Craig Elson and his beautiful wife Lisa who did a lot of hiking, Diane Crowe, Frances Fuji and her husband Tom. Tom is not a photographer, but I think he enjoyed spending time in the field with the group. We all enjoyed cocktail hour and our wonderful dinners, not to mention our double desserts!! Our guides were all fabulous as were the hotel staff. Actually, everyone along the way was wonderful. Chile is a beautiful country, and the people are always so nice.
One of my first up-close experiences with puma (mountain lion) in Chile was inside Torres del Paine NP many years ago. We hiked up a moderately sloped mountain to observe and hopefully photograph a female puma named “Rupestre.” She was on a mission to get back to her kill. Our guide told us that she had taken down a guanaco earlier and was going back to feed on it.
When puma leave their prey, they cover it so that birds and other animals don’t get to it. It also helps to protect the meat from the sun. The behavior is interesting to watch as they maneuver their giant paws over debris and dirt to cover the kill.
As we made our way up the mountain it was amazing to see how easily she managed the terrain. Her strides were consistent, and she moved at a remarkable pace— we had zero chance of keeping up with her, but we were able to maintain a safe distance and still keep her in our sight.
Once we reached the top, we photographed her as she fed on the guanaco. She didn’t eat much; it seemed more like she was just checking on her kill but had a few bites just for good measure. After she was done, she covered the remaining meal and quietly waked away.
It was a heart beating moment to see a puma at close range. It was also a day I’ll never forget. Her intense eyes and heart-shaped nose were highlighted by her golden toned coat. The shades of grey on her face made her a standout beauty. It was love at first sight for me. I’ve been hooked on big cats ever since. My quest to photograph these large cats in their natural environment has been a dream come true.
I’ve had the good fortune to see and photograph both Rupestre and four of her cubs when they were first brought out of their den. I’ve also returned to watch as the young cubs have grown and now have families of their own. My favorite daughter is Dania, she reminds me of her mother at an early age. Dania now has two beautiful cubs approximately 4 months old.
On our last evening in Patagonia, we saw Rupestre, she looked thin, her eyes were filled with bugs, she had more scars than I had seen on my last visit. She looked worn down and tired. It was a somber glance that my guide and I shared. We have both loved this puma for years. His words to me… “she looks old” cut me like a knife. I knew he was right, and I nodded to him in agreement. I took comfort in the fact that I just spent time with two of her offspring; they were both healthy and thriving.
One of Rupestre’s daughters (Dania) with her two cubs. The cubs have not been named yet.
I focus stacked this image using one focus point on the back cub and one on the mother to get them all in focus.
One of Dania’s cubs
Both of Dania’s cubs together.
My first Guanaco chase at a close distance. This was at 800mm and cropped lightly.
After taking down a Guanaco, Coiron rested for quite awhile before sitting up.
I look forward to another adventure with the puma in Patagonia. It is truly a unique experience. Plans are underway for a 2027 return trip. All of my pumas shots were captured with the Sony A1 and the Sony 400-800mm lens.
On one of our last days of the photo tour we stopped along the road to photograph a medium sized stand of dead trees that were burned during the fire of 2011-2012. One person trying to light toilet paper set the massive fire leaving behind an acres and acres of destruction.
The stand of trees had some underbrush growth of autumnal colors. It actually looked really pretty with the fall colors and white stick trees all grouped together. I began looking for compositions using the mountain as a backdrop. Then a large truck went down the road kicking up all kinds of dust and dirt. They are doing some road construction inside the park. The dust entered the field of dead trees creating a fog-like background. It looked magical with the light coming into the frame from the top. I spent most of my time there playing around with the fake fog, so I didn’t get a lot of time to capture any in-camera blurs as I had initially intended. But I was very pleased with some of my shots from that quick stop.
For this shot I waited until some of the dust settled and tried to create a slight silhouette.
In Photoshop, I used several different blend mode, then brought it into Nik Color Efex to add some filtering.
Everywhere you look in Torres del Paine NP you are surrounded by mountains and peaks, towers and glaciers, blue/green lagoons and lakes, it can take your breath away. There is just too much to photograph and while you are there you feel pulled in all different directions trying to capture everything.
We got some snow on the mountains overnight, my initial thought was to capture a B&W of the scene, but the blur color tones appealed to me.
I wrote some of my thoughts down regarding the Sony 400-800mm lens after using the lens (almost exclusively) during my trip. I will share that in my next blog post, along with some of my other shots from the trip.