brown eyed beauty wrote:
that would be so fun and exciting...i think i would have to see someone else get in the cage with the lion first haha-just to make sure it wouldn't eat me...but other than that, i would be willing to do it...that would be amazing...hope that works out for you...would love to see the photos

Thank you!  Many of these animals have been trained and are available for commercials, films, stills etc. when animals are needed.  The website is pretty cool in itself.

brown eyed beauty wrote:
yea-definitely afraid of snakes haha...but those are good photos...keep it up craig

Thank you and I'm sorry if the images make you uncomfortable.

I'm amazed at how many models have contacted me asking to shoot with the snakes or in the cage among other things.

Erika vicious wrote:
I would DEFINETLY love to shoot with wild animals,it think it would be a great experience and im sure the photos would be amazing AND obviously very original.
I say go for it!

I grew up on a ranch and have since moved back to the homestead.  We have quite a lot of natural wildlife here.  Deer for one!



and we now raise flowers called "Proteas" instead of cattle ....



But this place near by is such a temptation to shoot at (no, I wouldn't sneak in!) that I believe I'll try it someday.  I have toured the place and would you believe the most dangerous animal there to humans is also the one closest to us?  Yes, the baboon would tear a human apart just to impress upon us that she can do it!  That is no joke!  They don't have any chimpanzees, but wild chimpanzees are very dangerous!

no worries-they didn't make me uncomfortable, i would never be able to shoot with a snake...i get the heeby jeebies just thinking about it

brown eyed beauty wrote:
no worries-they didn't make me uncomfortable, i would never be able to shoot with a snake...i get the heeby jeebies just thinking about it

The snake in the photos with Lucy Luck is one of two red tail boas she rescued. Natalie is almost 10 feet long and has to be fed a rabbit or a couple of large rats a few weeks prior to shooting with her.

Bullhead Photography wrote:
I know a place that has large salt water crocs.   If you are willing to get into their enclosure I would love it if you would contact my ex-wife and ask her to be your model.     Maybe you could ask her to kick one of the crocs to see if he's awake...

Now that I think about it, this has real possibilities.... I know a couple of lawyers that perhaps you could ask to model with the crocs... or even the lion... I'm not fussy...

OMG!  I'm sure they can out run the crocs.  That's mean!  If you are serious ... remember what I said about chimps and baboons.  No one would suspect that our closest relatives in the animal kingdom could rip your face off!  But the lion is really gentle.  We are not a common prey to them so big cats are in general more afraid of humans.  We smell bad! (to them anyway!) LOL

Shyly wrote:
I seem to remember sometime in the past year a young girl/aspiring model shooting with or near a lion and ending up dead.  Anyone else remember that, am I recalling correctly?

Anyway, point being, if you do it please be very careful.

It's very rare, but there was a young lady that was killed while posing with a big cat (I don't think it was a lion, but a tiger?) for her senior portrait (of all things!)  Something was posted about it in the forum here ... but where?

Patrick Walberg wrote:
It's very rare, but there was a young lady that was killed while posing with a big cat (I don't think it was a lion, but a tiger?) for her senior portrait (of all things!)  Something was posted about it in the forum here ... but where?

That's what it was, you're right!  I know trainers handle big cats every day and are fine, I just wanted to be the wet rag on the idea and remind you that they are huge, powerful carnivores and to just please be careful.  We like having your sunny self around here. 

Shyly wrote:

That's what it was, you're right!  I know trainers handle big cats every day and are fine, I just wanted to be the wet rag on the idea and remind you that they are huge, powerful carnivores and to just please be careful.  We like having your sunny self around here. 

Thank you for the concern. I am careful.  Also I understand anilmals and their natural instint to hunt. I have walked right past mountain lions in the wild, but they leave me alone because I don't act like a deer or prey.  That means I walk and stand tall.  I don't run on trails or go under trees where mountain lion are known to hunt.  We have bobcats on our ranch right now, and they run away fast when they spot us!  Human beings are the most dangerous creatures on this planet.  Humans hunt for "sport!"

Jaimie wrote:
i want to shoot with a black panther!

They have a black panther that they rescued. He has a heart murmur, so they don't put him through any sort of stress.  So no working for him, instead he gets to be pampered.  Any animal that might be eligible to work in front of cameras must go through a physical exam to determine if they will have any health problems that be aggravated with the stress of working. 

This place is great!

Kaleidoscope Eyes wrote:
I'd do it in a heartbeat.  Of course, I also am an aspiring exotics veterinarian, so wild animals are fascinating for me.

That is wonderful that you want to be an exotics veterinarian! I used to work for a biotech company which provided services for veterinarians.  The people who work as veterinarians are very special indeed!  Anyone who wants to help save lives of animals or people gets my love and support!  Also you have some great black and white figure work!

Patrick Walberg wrote:
Anyone ever shoot with wild animals (trained though) and models?  What was the experience like?  After reading the post from the "bored" photographer, I am hankering to shoot with the lion I hear roar every night from my open window.  He lives just about a mile down the road from me at http://www.wildthingsinc.com/ which is easy walking distance for me. OK, I have already called to find out his rates, and the one thing that holds me back is that I need to find another photographer and a few models brave enough to do it. So before I post in the "casting calls" I want to find out if anyone has done such a thing?  Is it worth it?  Am I crazy to think of such an idea?  (well it is like going to the San Diego zoo .. umm but climbing into the cages with the animals!) LOL


Would you as a photographer ... or model .. get into the same area with an unleashed lion and take pictures with him? (I think he is just a big pussy cat!)

What about other wild animals?

I'd do it at the drop of a hat - game on!

Patrick Walberg wrote:

Thank you for the concern. I am careful.  Also I understand anilmals and their natural instint to hunt. I have walked right past mountain lions in the wild, but they leave me alone because I don't act like a deer or prey.  That means I walk and stand tall.  I don't run on trails or go under trees where mountain lion are known to hunt.  We have bobcats on our ranch right now, and they run away fast when they spot us!  Human beings are the most dangerous creatures on this planet.  Humans hunt for "sport!"

Actually, there is proof that other animals hunt for sport, dolphins, killer whales and several other creatures. The research seems to indicate that the more developed the brain is the more likely the animals are to participate in violence for the sake of violence (which is what hunting without using the kill is). I'm discovering a lot of this in an incredible book called Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin. She has autism and the research indicates that her brain "thinks" the same way that an animal does. As a result she can really relate to animals very easily. If anyone is interested in animals in any way, and wants to learn more about how they think to better understand them (and yourself too), you should read this book. Its the easiest reading nonfiction book I have ever read.

To expand further: The most dangerous animals to work with are actually prey animals. Their instinct to defend themselves when they feel threatened can be catastrophic, and is often far worse than the damage that a predator would do. Predators don't have as much fear, and so they do not feel threatened as easily. So big cats are not as much of a threat as one might think. Of course, as someone else mentioned, if you behave like prey, then they will think you are prey.

I'd love to do a shoot with animals like that. I think to be able to do so I would want to spend some time with the animal first outside of the pressure of the camera to begin with, that way I can get my confidence up and my comfort level to a point where I can focus on getting the shots without too much worry of the animal.

I work with horses anyway, and am interested in doing a shoot with them, but haven't found horses that I want to work with (read look good enough and have the right disposition and training) and an owner willing enough to let me do the shoot nude with them. Someday...

Serena Toxicat wrote:
I have 3 wild hybrid cats; they're Jungle/domestic (2 F1's and an F2). If you're in NorCal and you wanna hire us for a shoot, contact me.

WOW! You have go me curious!  What do they look like?  Do you have any pictures?  Yes, I'm not far from you and will get in touch with you.

KathyJean wrote:

I'd do it at the drop of a hat - game on!

Aww .., thanks!  But the animals and myself are in California.     Are you traveling anytime soon?

NC17 wrote:

Actually, there is proof that other animals hunt for sport, dolphins, killer whales and several other creatures. The research seems to indicate that the more developed the brain is the more likely the animals are to participate in violence for the sake of violence (which is what hunting without using the kill is). I'm discovering a lot of this in an incredible book called Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin. She has autism and the research indicates that her brain "thinks" the same way that an animal does. As a result she can really relate to animals very easily. If anyone is interested in animals in any way, and wants to learn more about how they think to better understand them (and yourself too), you should read this book. Its the easiest reading nonfiction book I have ever read.

To expand further: The most dangerous animals to work with are actually prey animals. Their instinct to defend themselves when they feel threatened can be catastrophic, and is often far worse than the damage that a predator would do. Predators don't have as much fear, and so they do not feel threatened as easily. So big cats are not as much of a threat as one might think. Of course, as someone else mentioned, if you behave like prey, then they will think you are prey.

I'd love to do a shoot with animals like that. I think to be able to do so I would want to spend some time with the animal first outside of the pressure of the camera to begin with, that way I can get my confidence up and my comfort level to a point where I can focus on getting the shots without too much worry of the animal.

I work with horses anyway, and am interested in doing a shoot with them, but haven't found horses that I want to work with (read look good enough and have the right disposition and training) and an owner willing enough to let me do the shoot nude with them. Someday...

Very interesting!  So there are animals that will hunt and kill for the sport of it?  It must be like a game to them, as it is to many humans?  I'll check out that book!

I love horses!  They are amazing!

JulieB wrote:
I shot with a young cougar once-- he was incredibly sweet, but did like to nosh on my fingers. I could tell he was just being playful, and the owner/trainer was right there, but it was amazing to feel the potential power of his big paws... I'd love to do more of the sort.

That's cool!  Do you have any pictures?

Sadistic Skye wrote:
I wouldn't mind shooting with a giant cat

Thank you for the responses!

Well I've decided to postpone shooting models with big cats for at least a month or two.  Serena and I were in "talks" about shooting her and her hybrids because that would be a great prelude to doing the even bigger cats at Wild Things, but due to some unforeseen circumstances ... it's off for the moment.  Probably the first month of the New Year ... OMG!  It's crazy that 2006 is winding down!  I feel like this whole year went by too fast.