How did I photograph a wild mountain lion with the new Nikon 500mm PF f/5.6 lens?
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- Опубліковано 8 жов 2018
- Please contact me if you're interested in a limited edition print of the mountain lion. Only 25 prints will be made.
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WOW, what an AWESOME AWESOME story and such a BEAUTIFUL picture. I have LOVED mountain lions since i was a young girl.
Such a neat story!! And the photo is great! Thank you for sharing
Such a beauty and such a perfect shot, Steve...
I think that shot is perfect! Love the low contrast, monochromatic color look and feel to the image.
Wow what a nice story Steve and a beautiful picture... I love watching the video... 👍🏻😉
What a fantastic encounter!!! Glad you had the right tools and the experience to pull it off.
Thanks!👍
You did a great job Steve. What an amazing experience that must have been, albeit only for a few seconds.
Loved it.
Thanks! It was very cool...
OUTSTANDING and a good tutorial also!
Wow what a thrill. Great image. Super story. Excellent explanation and follow up on settings. Thank you for sharing your experience and your knowledge.
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Congrats Steve!! Such a Beautiful animal, and I love your image!
Thanks!👍
CONGRATULATIONS Steve! Mountain Lions are so elusive, like you said, and it's incredibly hard to just see one much less photograph one. Great story, and I'm very happy for you!
Thank you 🙏
Bravo, Steve! That story tells all about enthusiasm for wildlife photography and it was told in such an infectious way.
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Great story, and what a experience.
Only just found your channel and i have to say its great, thank you. I look forward to watching your library and any future videos.
Cool, thanks for watching 👍
That is certainly an exquisite image, you have every reason to be proud and excited, well done.
Thanks!
What a moment and what a shot !!!!!
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Outstanding story Steve and to add to your serendipitous elements, you shoot with an D850, whereas you have to be on your A game because it is such a sensitive camera, the pics could have been blurry.
Don’t ever forget how good a photographer you are!!! All hail Steve!!!
😬
Outstanding story Steve. Congratulations on the shot ... Well seen.
Thanks 🙏
What a fantastic story Steve, and your presentation is excellent. Even two days after meeting the mountain lion family, we can really feel and understand your adrenalin excitement through the screen. I hope you get more chances to see and photograph the entire mountain lion family together, and share the experience with us here.
You comments about the 500PF advantages are spot on in my opinion. I've been hooked on getting this lens since its announcement, and your fantastic ghost mountain lion story and picture hasn't reduced my GAS.
Haha, hang in there, I think the 500pf is going to be sold out for quite a while...
That's an awesome picture! Congrats! I very much enjoy your videos. Thanks
Thanks!🙏
Wow super story and narrative
You make your own luck. You were ready for the shot and you got it...that's not luck. Luck is being in the right place at the right time. Thanks for sharing and congrats on a beautiful photo and a once in a life time moment, Steve
Thanks!
What an outstanding probably a once in a lifetime experience. Not only are you a fantastic photographer and teacher you are a great story teller. Thanks so much for sharing and all you do to help educate us less talented photographers.
Definitely a rare thing to experience, so cool!
Awesome story and awesome image.
Thank you🙏
Congrats on the mountain lion. nice shot and great story. You deserve to be excited about this one.
Thanks 👍
Wow, what a wonderful experience, & what a lovely shot. Its not all about camera settings. Nice one Steve!
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What a powerful image. Well done, Steve.
Thanks Brent!
Wow what a shot...Awesome!!!
Thanks 🙏
Nice story Steve...and a nice photo too
Thanks,🙏
Breathtaking image Steve. Congratulations!
Thanks 🙏
What a inspiring story - I can totally feel your enthusiasm for both wildlife, and photography. Nicely captured, and thanks for sharing it. :)
Thanks 🙏
Steve, how the heck are you going to top this story 😂, absolutely delighted for you having that experience and also sharing it with your followers, fantastic. The picture is validation of your commitment and enthusiasm and your skills a photographer.
Thanks for sharing once again.
Thank you🙏
Great work ,my heart would of been pounding so hard, great story, I was hoping you would put up a new video today. Thanks.
Haha, it’s your lucky day!
Great story, great lesson, great photo, and great glasses. Persol are awesome. anway really enjoyed the story/lesson
Haha, the mountain lion was cool... but the glasses? Extra cool!
wow, awsome shot and story
Thanks!
Well done, glad you were able to nail it!
Yep, me too!
Great backstory to the story Steve. Hope to be traveling through there soon!
Do it!
Hi! Steve, fantastic story. 👍Thank!
Thanks 👍
What a great story and a wonderful picture, thanks Steve. I hope you get to see and photograph the mountain lions again. You're getting me seriously interested in that 500pf lens, having to fight the GAS!
I hope to see them again for sure...
Happy Days Steve. Good luck comes to those who put in the effort.
Truth 👍
Beautiful Shot!
Thanks!
Well anticipated 👏🏼👏🏼
Thanks!
Nicely shared experience.... thanx
Congrats on an amazing image and a damn great story!!!
Thanks 🙏
Good work Steve. A rare opportunity indeed!
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Great story! Hopefully you can revisit the place later again to get another chance of photographing them!
Lightning can strike twice! 😬
Great shot & insight into your methodology in getting it. Your videos just keep getting better. Mark (England).
Thank you!
What a thrill! Congrats, the shot is outstanding! It almost looks like a painting, in fact, took an artist like yourself to bring your vision and multiple decisions into focus in a split second to make your masterpiece!
Thank you 🙏
Beautiful pictures you got! Good work
Thanks 👍
I can fully empathise with your excitement Steve. We don't have much in the way of big game here in Wales but nearly all our wild mammals are very timid so a surprise encounter is always a very exciting moment. As you say, having the right gear at the right time is often a luxury and as with all wildlife photography the choice of equipment at any given time is often down to luck. Luck is one of the wildlife photographers greatest assets. Of course, when you put the work in you can increase your chances of being "lucky" .
Definitely
Wow! Real nice.
Great story , beautiful picture..I'm jalous
Thank you 🙏
Great shot and video Steve, well done!
I can totally relate to having 'worst case scenario'-settings ready to go once you're out in the field. It's usually a lesson learned the hard way, I know I've messed up some shots in the past when animals suddenly showed up or started moving haha! Putting those settings in a custom preset really helped me to make sure my camera is set up correctly.
No doubt 👍
Congrats Steve ! 👏👏👏👏
Thank you sir
@@SteveMattheis You're welcome ! And also I'm stealing your quote about perfection and greatness ;) Helps me to look at my pictures from a different perspective ...
What an experience. Great shot under pressure. The adrenaline flow would have been at maximum.Great and thanks for sharing.
Yep, I’m glad I didn’t screw it up...
Great photo and story, I wish you would have let us see it one more time at the end of the video like you usually do so we could get a better look at it. Thanks for posting such a unique video today, it was a good birthday present for me, thanks and keep up the excellent videos!
Good point...
I would have picked that lightweight prime for the same reasons you did. I think in many situations where you need to respond quickly, that is the best choice. I know a lot of folks would have gone for the zoom or the 600, but the small 500 is really the only choice, in my mind. Thanks for the wonderful story/lessions and for sharing a great image, Steve.
Thank you 🙏
Great shot. Luck/serendipity had something to do with it, but you have the excellent skills and understanding to get that image. The quote "luck favors the prepared" comes to mind. The story is wonderful too.
Thanks 👍
Thank you so much for this story :D! I like it and I hope to receive my 500 mm f/5,6 very soon ^^
Yes! 👍
I had a similar experience with a mountain lion that popped it's head up from the underbrush at about 50 meters. Luckily my default settings with the D500/300mm PF + TC were sufficient. 1/320, wide open, auto-iso, prefocused to about 20 meters. My cougar gave me about 10 seconds of staring at me like a statue though, so even though there were branches in front of it's face, the AF nailed 3/6 shots. That was the first opportunity I had to photograph a cougar after about 8 yrs. of trying.
amazing.
No! I do not need more reason to get the 500PF ... :) I am convinced, I tested it at a store (on the street) ... Only thing missing now are some Swedish kronor (SEK) ... or money ...
Very nice photo!!!
Haha... thanks!
Nice capture and great story Steve. I put in my name for pre-order of this lens here in Canada BEFORE watching this video :)
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Just, wow!
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Stunning shot Steve. These are the moments that make us passionate about what we do and dream about what's possible. It's as much to do with you as a person, as it is to do with the moment you pressed the shutter button. If you weren't a cool guy, you wouldn't have been there in the first place. You made your own luck.
Haha thanks! Brief moments that last forever...
@@SteveMattheis Also, not being eaten is a bonus ;)
Hi Steve, I have been fallowing your videos for over a year seen all. I learned a lot from you, thanks. I am a prof photographer but was not active for decades. I recently bought a Nikon D750 and took my vacation: California coast, and yes swing over the Tetons and Yellowstone (visit all your favorite places) . My name is Ansel and I saw the video you took with Ansel (not me) lookout point of the Tetons-Snake river. So My plan was to do some pic from that same point and send it to Shutterstock along with others. on my trip I took Over 7,000 photos (yes 7,000). I am back home, LA, and I Lightroom 28 (4 Teton)and uploaded then, waite 5 days. Here is the kicker, all was approved yesterday, today I did a search key words: "teton, Panoramic, ansel", Guess what, my pic came up taken from Ansel position, along with 3 others of my own ONLY. Long winded but THANKS again.
Cool, thanks for watching!
The photo came out great, love the tall grass!! I have yet to see a wild mountain lion, I´m hoping next time I go to Torres del Paine (I´m from Chile) I'll get a chance :)
Thanks! Yes, good luck out there...
That is the place to see wild Puma concolor!
Actually check the rules if you are in the park. We were told that they changed the rules to make it very difficult to track pumas in the park. We were on a ranch adjacent to the park and the puma opportunities were amazing.
"Photography is a brief complicity between foresight and luck."
John Stuart Mill congratulation Steve beautiful photography
Thank you 🙏
Awesome!!
Thanks!
Skills as a photographer, getting all excited and missed my wording 😂
Man, you made me cry with your story, you have my profound admiration! I wish I will have an experience like that some day. I have tried a lot with wolves, which here in Italy are quite rare, but I haven’t had that luck yet... but I will keep showing up 😉
Nice, get out there and have some fun! Maybe you too will get ‘lucky’!
@@SteveMattheis I'll keep trying for the next 20 years or so :)
@@FabrizioGiammatteo Keep trying Fabrizio. At least you have some chance. Here in the UK they were eradicated some time in the 18th century I think. So no chance for me over here I'm afraid. Good luck in your quest.
The are out there. Last August we met some girls who saw one on the trails east of Jackson.
They are. Hard to photograph...
Speechless...
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Wow, what a moment! We dont have that many different "cats" here in Sweden but we do have Eurasian Lynx wich has been spotted around were i live. So my goal is to get some photos of them in the nearest future.
Good luck out there 👍
wow great! stay safe
Great pictures and fantastic story ...... did you solved out the VR problem on the new 500mm?
I’m still seeing some inconsistency that I can’t figure out...
There are different types of luck. Being knowledgeably prepared can be one of the best types. Nice image !!!
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Amazing stuff... My last cat encounter was definetely adrenalising too: In the night, i couldnt see it, i could only hear its growlings, nearby dogs barking crazily. It seemed like the jaguar was coming towards me, the growlings were getting louder... Man, was I relieved when i reached the car.
Haha, wow, yeah that sounds freaky
Great story and image Steve. I hope you stopped and got a lottery ticket on your way home.
Hmm I didn’t... but I’m pretty sure I’m going to win the 1.6 billion $ jackpot this week!
Great story/shot! Haven't had that privilege with a mountain lion.. yet, would love too! but have with a couple of foxes/elk.. that unique one on one interaction! Was thinking too after that initial adrenaline wore off, reality might set in and realize wait there are at least 3 of them around and have no idea where they are.. 😳
A big congrats on an amazing capture. Are you providing a print to the property owner? Keep up the great work...always enjoy your videos.
Very cool Steve. We are hearing about a lot more cougar encounters/sightings in our area recently and that is occurring within the city limits. Unfortunately it doesn’t always end well for the animals and just recently it didn’t end well for a hiker. Be careful out there.
Eek!
What time is the picture shown?
Steve, great video and image of the mountain lion. I'm researching the Nikon 500 pf and saw your earlier video that you made in Sept. 2018. In that video you brought up some potential issues with the VR causing some problems with sharpness. I'm wondering if you figured that out or if now that you've had the lens if you are still having a problem with it.
It still happens, I just shoot a burst and one of them will always be wicked sharp. Or use a faster shutter speed.
Good video. Great story. Back in the day of 35mm film we used to set the lens for its hyper focal length, can you do that with the dslr lenses? Do they have the same scale for setting it?
@Geoff Longford true that d.o.f. with super telephoto is inches.
I'm so itching for this lens. After using 600mm F4 I think I wait for 600mm PF. Common Nikon what you waiting for?😁
Yep, I’m interested in checking it out too...
Good stuff Steve,my first instinct would have been to go back button focus and probably missed the shot.
Do you normally leave mf/a as a default setting?
Thanks much.
Yes, it’s rare that I need to override the AF but when I do, it usually needs to happen quickly...
Hello Steve,
Can you tell me where you can buy this great red arca swiss plate, which is great if a Sling strap has.
You had them mounted on the Nikkor 200-500 VR.
Thank you .
Günter www.amazon.com/PX3-ProMediaGear-Arca-Swiss-Universal-Plate/dp/B0088KAZ36/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0088KAZ36&pd_rd_r=38124f90-b79e-11e8-8a49-4dd240b1bebd&pd_rd_w=AkNnD&pd_rd_wg=hJju1&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=1646818405999967777&pf_rd_r=507DXJ0AX47G0Y0A5E90&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=507DXJ0AX47G0Y0A5E90&linkCode=sl1&tag=stevematthe0c-20&linkId=4c1a8c301944a3472eaeac7784eb230e&language=en_US
I asked the same question a couple of videos back- hope this helps!
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YQB2GJM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A32WX9Q7R5AP7R&psc=1
Amazing shot Steve! Good lessons. I was out this evening and I forgot to put the focus spot back to the center. I happened upon a bird I've never seen. I had just long enough to put my camera to my eye and snap one shot, but since I had left the focus point over to the right I missed it. lesson learned...your video was a a tad too late for me. But I'm sure I learned the lesson better this way.
So do you plan on returning to look for the cats again? Oh and I like this style of video. I think it really works well for this scenario.
Oops! Yep, we all make mistakes...
Would you steer away from using the D500 with this lens or is the D850 the best option
It will work great with a D500. It will just have field of view equivalent of 750mm. 👍
Hey, you're good at being a story teller too!
Thanks 👍
You want to travel light, so mm why the extra 300gms for the battery grip ?
Because I like it.
Any reason you don't use auto ISO, with say a ceiling of 1600 or 3200 (for the D850; can go higher with a D5, for example, that handles higher ISOs better). Just curious.
I’d just rather have control over the iso. Changing the iso is easier than changing the minimum shutter speed for the auto iso imho.
Very nice work....
Only one point - In case the lion was little too close or very tight in the frame then you would have been better with 200-500 in every way :)
Thumbs up,watch when I get home🤓
😂haha
You make your own luck, but you need skill as well to capture this in just a few seconds - stunning image Steve
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Great experience and you tell a story that really helps others understand what you did when taking the photo. Very educational. Just curious, are you hard of hearing in your right ear? I see the aid you wear. I am really hard of hearing in both ears. Been ans issue for years.
I had surgery a couple of months ago to fix my hearing👍👍 the surgery was called a stapedectomy
Lucky man!
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Nice.
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one of these days Im going to get me a mountain lion