Monday 26 November 2012

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Animals in news











Ready for your close up?

Ready for your close up? Photographer snaps elephants, tigers and lions from just a few FEET away
Brad Wilson captured the wild animals portraits by offering them snacks as 
he inched towards them.Animals are trained not to attack and are normally used in films

PUBLISHED: 17:14 GMT, 24 November 2012 | UPDATED: 19:55 GMT,
 24 November 2012 
While some may say never work with children or animals, 
photographer Brad Wilson decided to ignore this pearl of wisdom.
The snapper wanted to work with something 'a little less predictable'
 and certainly achieved that, by bringing in hungry wild animals 
and taking their portrait.
Mr Wilson brought in hungry mountain lions, cheetahs and orangutans,
 who were trained not to attack humans, and using their favourite 
types of food managed to take their photograph in a studio by 
rewarding them with snacks.

Keeping an eye out: An
                                          elephant stares into the lense
                                          in graphic close up as part of
                                          Brad Wilson's collection                                        
Keeping an eye out: An elephant stares into the lense in 
graphic 
close up as part of Brad Wilson's collection
Detailed: The close up of
                                          this mountain lion shows its
                                          beauty in close up                                       
Detailed: The close up of this mountain lion shows its beauty in close up
Almost human? This
                                            orangutan's face is almost
                                            human as it looks into the
                                            camera
Roar: This Siberian
                                            tiger lets out a roar under
                                            the keen eye of Brad Wilson
Almost human? This orangutan's face seems almost human as it  looks
 into the camera, while a Siberian tiger lets out a roar 
under the keen eye of photographer Wilson
He began by calling wildlife sanctuaries and handlers 
that provide animals for Hollywood movies, 
he told Petapixel. 
The photographer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, said the most difficult part 
was 'pre-production' of his ambitious idea.
He said: 'Trying to find the animals I could bring into the studio, 
find the right trainers to come with these animals, 
and even just to find a space that could contain an elephant, 
contain a giraffe - and that was a big part of it.'
Once he had the animals he needed, he signed large insurance policies 
and liability contracts so, if an animal died during a shoot, Mr Wilson owed
 $500,000, the website reported.
 
He says, technically, the animals are considered trained, 
although 'not trained in the sense that a dog is trained... They are basically 
trained to not come out on to the set and try to attack you; beyond that,
they are really going to do what they want to do.'He would allow them to sit 
on the set - sometimes while held by their trainer - and then inch up until he
 managed totake the perfect picture of them.He said despite the chaos around the situation, he aimed to find the perfect moment where he captured the animal.
The photographer wanted to achieve a sense of isolation with
 his wild subjects, he told the website.
The images - entitled Affinity - were the stunning results of his work, 
giving a close up view more normally gleaned from zoom lenses in the wild -
 all from a 90×120-foot sound stage in a Los Angeles studio lot.

I'm ready! The animals
                                          were brought in so the
                                          photographer could try and
                                          capture their portrait                                       
I'm ready! The animals were brought in so the photographer
 could try and capture their portrait
The photographer got up
                                          and close personal with the
                                          animals, which have been
                                          trained not to bite          
                             
The photographer got up and close personal with the animals,
 which have been trained not to attack

giraffe        
                               
Who are you looking at? The photographer managed to get the unique shots 
after bringing the creatures into his studio and rewarding them with food

Beauty: The stark beauty
                                          of the arctic fox is captured
                                          against the black background -
                                          in a studio lot in LA       
                                
Beauty: The stark beauty of the arctic fox is captured against the 
black background - in a studio lot in LA

Made a mistake? This
                                          chimpanzee clutches his head,
                                          looking as if he's just
                                          remembered something             
                          
Made a mistake? This chimpanzee clutches his head, looking 
as if he's just remembered something