I was invited to photograph the rescue cats at The Big Cat Sanctuary in kent, England. BIG cats are photographed often: on long-lensed cameras, from a distance, in daylight. Naturally then, I decided to photograph these big cats in a flash-lit photo studio I set up INSIDE an actual lions' den. I photographed them in a similar way to how I would approach a (human) celebrity portrait: concentrating on their individual characters, so people might think ‘how magnificent: we HAVE to protect them’. They are ambassadors for their endangered cousins in the wild.
I was invited to photograph the rescue cats at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent.
BIG cats are photographed often: usually on cameras with long lenses, from a distance, in daylight, for good reason.
Not knowing this reason, I decided to photograph the big cats in a flash-lit photo studio that I set up INSIDE an actual lions' den.
It was my ambition to photograph portraits of the cats in a similar way to how I would approach a (human) celebrity portrait: concentrating on their individual characters.
I also hoped to show how beautiful and magnificent these animals are, that people might think about how we HAVE to protect them.
The sanctuary sees these cats as ambassadors for their endangered cousins in the wild.
Incredibly, XIzi the Amur Leopard I photographed is one of just sixty left in the world!
Big Cats are scaredy-cats: they are naturally suspicious of any change to their environment.
At an opportune moment, I painted the back of an empty den, a mid-tone grey and set up flash heads.
Positive reinforcement was used to familiarise the cats with the lights: first, just as objects and then as objects that flash.
Small chunks of horsemeat (their favoured food) were given with every newly imposed experience to overcome.
Still, for months, my presence was very unwelcome: there was just something about me that tigers (principally) hated.
The keepers said I shouldn't take it personally, although it was personal: maybe I reminded my first and most difficult subject, the Sumatran tiger, Nias, of someone who had mistreated him in the past?
Every time I walked into the room around the dens, Nias would express his displeasure at seeing me.
I wasn't scared of Big cats until I had met (a pissed off) one.
It took me 6 months to ingratiate myself with Nias and the tigers and to get my first photo.
I spent a year making this series: to say that it was a little challenging would be an understatement.