Cougar in the Meadow
by John Launstein
Hi all! I was having a conversation with another Alberta wildlife photographer the other day and the topic eventually got around to how hard it is to spot, let alone photograph, cougars--despite the fact we have a very strong population of the big cats. I mentioned that in 2012 my family and I managed to log 4 cougar sightings, although 2 were at twilight. The most memorable sighting happened in a most bizarre way, so if you're up for a crazy story, I'll share it with you.
We were pulled over along one of our favourite roads in Waterton Lakes National Park photographing a black bear when Jenaya noticed there was a second bear (a brown-phased black bear) following the first. That's not terribly unusual in our neck of the woods, and they were partially obscured by a rise in the meadow, so I sat my camera in my lap and waited to see if anything developed. About then my daughter Marlise said, is that a cougar following that bear? I was a little embarrassed that a member of my wildlife-loving and wilderness-dwelling family could mistake a bear for a cougar, thinking she was referring to the second bear following the one we had pulled over for. No, Marlise, that's just another bear. NO, Dad, I'm not talking about the second bear, I meant the cougar following the second bear!
WHAT!?!?
Sure enough, there was a little caravan going on in the meadow...black phase black bear, brown phase black bear, cougar.
I never looked at the files or processed a frame until now, because my adrenaline took over and I did not exactly employ great technique (or good decisions on the techs for handholding 450mm equivalent while leaning against the truck)...I remember being so disappointed I missed the moment when the bear turned around, stood up and both cougar and bear froze for 5 seconds or so. Or rather, I got the moment, but not with the quality image I had hoped for.
The bears got out of dodge, the cougar disappeared into the trees, and we we decided to wait. Thankfully, the cat did come back out, and I did manage two somewhat clean views of it.
If you don't mind, I'd love to know which version you like best of this frame...the full width habitat shot posted above, or the cropped version below.
Thanks in advance for your comments, critiques and suggestions! Please view the larger for a bit better view (I know, this one needs to be viewed very large, but thankfully it's a solid file so can be printed appropriately should I decide to go that way).
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Nikon D7000
Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4D IF-ED
ISO 1000
1/160sec @ f/4
Handheld while leaning against truck
Full (uncropped) width, cropped from top and bottom for pano presentation
Comments
9 commentsI prefer the second version which shows off the ML better than the first image. There's enough habitat in the second shot to carry the composition. Wildflowers add some nice color to break up all of those greens and to draw the eye towards the right side of the image. .........................Jim
I like the cropped version better..
Congratulations.
Always exciting and to actually SEE these guys - and better yet when you actually get a shot of one (the only way I know they're common around my home is because I pick them up at night on my trail cams).
My preference is for the 2nd version. For me it's not so much because I see the cat better, but rather because the wildflowers directly behind the cat show so much better - and to me those touches of colour really add nice touches (accents) to the shot.
Honest question: What drove you to go pano here? I don't see anything in the scene here that suggests a benefit to that aspect ration choice and - at least in the second version - you end up chopping the tops (and bottoms) off a lot of trees that could be adding nice elements (if they were more "complete") to the overall "look and feel" of this 'scape? But of course, I have no idea if there was something outside the first frame that motivated the decision?
Cheers...
Brad
I'm with the others... I prefer a bit more detail in the cat, so the second version appeals to me. Though it is a lovely environment, I like seeing more of the subject.
Max