Year of the Tiger

Happy Lunar New Year! And...here's wishing you a great start to the Year of the Tiger 🐅...

I took this in Bandhavgarh National Park, India, in 2013 and it was undoubtedly my most exhilarating experience as a wildlife photographer. Since that time, tiger populations have increased in some critical areas, thanks to the tireless work of NGO's and inter-governmental cooperation: https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/tiger

I look forward to returning to India to lead tours with Nat Expo Tours (http://natexpotours.com/) and once again witnessing wild Bengal tigers in their natural habitat.

PS - this was recognized by Nat Geo editors on the Your Shot page, making the top 10 out of nearly 12,000 images, and recently published in American Essence Magazine...

🐯Colin

International Tiger Day, 2017

Tigress, Bandhavgarh National Park, India

Happy International Tiger Day, 2017! Over the past century, the world has lost approximately 97% of the wild tiger population while 3 subspecies have gone extinct. Thanks to the tireless work of NGO’s such as
Panther, World Wildlife Fun, and International Tiger Da, as well as cooperation with regional governments, tigers are beginning to rebound in some areas, perhaps nowhere is this more evident than India, where anti-poaching efforts and habitat preservation have provided very encouraging results. 

I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to witness and photograph many species of wildlife, both in my home state of Alaska and around the globe. I can tell you that nothing matches the exhilaration of seeing a tiger in the wild. They truly are magnificent creatures and I hope that our own species will continue to reverse the trend and bring them back from the brink in all areas where they are threatened. 

Colin
 

New Logo

I’ve recently spent a good deal of effort designing a unique, impactful logo for my images, something symbolic and representative of my work as a wildlife photographer. Rather than download a piece of clipart, I wanted to create something original. After some thought, it occurred to me that I had the perfect symbol tattooed on my right shoulder – the paw print of my cat Spike, whom I lost 3 years ago. With a fair amount of digital time and equal parts determination and frustration, I was able to extract a silhouette by working off a photo of the tattoo. You can view the new logo in the bottom of this tiger image; also significant as this was the first tiger we saw in India and where I left Spike’s ashes. While traveling in India, locals would ask if my tattoo was that of a tiger. Sometimes I would explain the story behind it, but often I would just smile and nod in agreement, because Spike truly was a wildcat at heart. If you look closely, you might notice that the print is not exactly symmetrical; it is this slight imperfection that makes it the perfect tribute, in my opinion, and proves it was not downloaded. I could have corrected the symmetry, but then it wouldn’t match his print.

Now that I’ve created the logo, I will be updating the images on my website and Facebook page. Please let me know your thoughts on the design.

Cheers,

Colin