What a fantastic encounter!!! Glad you had the right tools and the experience to pull it off.

@SteveMattheis

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks!👍

WOW, what an AWESOME AWESOME story and such a BEAUTIFUL picture. I have LOVED mountain lions since i was a young girl.

OUTSTANDING and a good tutorial also!

Such a beauty and such a perfect shot, Steve...

Such a neat story!! And the photo is great! Thank you for sharing

Great story, and what a experience.

Wow what a shot...Awesome!!!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks 🙏

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 moment and what a shot !!!!!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

👍

Beautiful Shot!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Wow what a thrill. Great image. Super story. Excellent explanation and follow up on settings. Thank you for sharing your experience and your knowledge.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

👍

Bravo, Steve! That story tells all about enthusiasm for wildlife photography and it was told in such an infectious way.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

👍

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!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you 🙏

Congrats Steve!! Such a Beautiful animal, and I love your image!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks!👍

Awesome story and awesome image.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you🙏

Wow! Real nice.

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.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Cool, thanks for watching 👍

wow, awsome shot and story

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

That's an awesome picture! Congrats! I very much enjoy your videos. Thanks

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks!🙏

You did a great job Steve. What an amazing experience that must have been, albeit only for a few seconds. Loved it.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks! It was very cool...

That is certainly an exquisite image, you have every reason to be proud and excited, well done.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Outstanding story Steve. Congratulations on the shot ... Well seen.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks 🙏

Well done, glad you were able to nail it!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Yep, me too!

Beautiful pictures you got! Good work

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks 👍

Hi! Steve, fantastic story. 👍Thank!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks 👍

Wow super story and narrative

Great work ,my heart would of been pounding so hard, great story, I was hoping you would put up a new video today. Thanks.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Haha, it’s your lucky day!

Nice story Steve...and a nice photo too

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks,🙏

What a powerful image. Well done, Steve.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Brent!

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!!!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

😬

Breathtaking image Steve. Congratulations!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks 🙏

Congrats on the mountain lion. nice shot and great story. You deserve to be excited about this one.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks 👍

Congrats on an amazing image and a damn great story!!!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks 🙏

Great story, great lesson, great photo, and great glasses. Persol are awesome. anway really enjoyed the story/lesson

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Haha, the mountain lion was cool... but the glasses? Extra cool!

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.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Definitely a rare thing to experience, so cool!

Great backstory to the story Steve. Hope to be traveling through there soon!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Do it!

What a inspiring story - I can totally feel your enthusiasm for both wildlife, and photography. Nicely captured, and thanks for sharing it. :)

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks 🙏

Happy Days Steve. Good luck comes to those who put in the effort.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Truth 👍

Nicely shared experience.... thanx

Wow, what a wonderful experience, & what a lovely shot. Its not all about camera settings. Nice one Steve!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

🙏

Great story! Hopefully you can revisit the place later again to get another chance of photographing them!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Lightning can strike twice! 😬

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!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you 🙏

Well anticipated 👏🏼👏🏼

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Great story , beautiful picture..I'm jalous

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you 🙏

Congrats Steve ! 👏👏👏👏

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you sir

@michastoch3629

5 жыл бұрын

@@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 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.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Haha, hang in there, I think the 500pf is going to be sold out for quite a while...

Good work Steve. A rare opportunity indeed!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

👍

Great shot & insight into your methodology in getting it. Your videos just keep getting better. Mark (England).

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

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

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

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!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

I hope to see them again for sure...

Awesome!!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

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.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you🙏

Just, wow!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

👍

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!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Good point...

amazing.

Thank you so much for this story :D! I like it and I hope to receive my 500 mm f/5,6 very soon ^^

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Yes! 👍

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" .

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Definitely

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.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you 🙏

What an experience. Great shot under pressure. The adrenaline flow would have been at maximum.Great and thanks for sharing.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Yep, I’m glad I didn’t screw it up...

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.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

No doubt 👍

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 :)

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Yes, good luck out there...

@dglatz01

5 жыл бұрын

That is the place to see wild Puma concolor!

@dglatz01

5 жыл бұрын

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.

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.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks 👍

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.

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!!!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Haha... thanks!

wow great! stay safe

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.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Haha thanks! Brief moments that last forever...

@SundayRacers

5 жыл бұрын

@@SteveMattheis Also, not being eaten is a bonus ;)

Nice capture and great story Steve. I put in my name for pre-order of this lens here in Canada BEFORE watching this video :)

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

👍

Great pictures and fantastic story ...... did you solved out the VR problem on the new 500mm?

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

I’m still seeing some inconsistency that I can’t figure out...

Speechless...

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

👍

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 .

@andyobrien6263

5 жыл бұрын

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!

@LA3198

5 жыл бұрын

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YQB2GJM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A32WX9Q7R5AP7R&psc=1

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.

@SteveMattheis

3 жыл бұрын

Good luck out there 👍

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.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Eek!

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 😉

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Nice, get out there and have some fun! Maybe you too will get ‘lucky’!

@FabrizioGiammatteo

5 жыл бұрын

@@SteveMattheis I'll keep trying for the next 20 years or so :)

@davidrobinson4118

5 жыл бұрын

@@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.

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.

@SteveMattheis

4 жыл бұрын

It still happens, I just shoot a burst and one of them will always be wicked sharp. Or use a faster shutter speed.

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.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Yes, it’s rare that I need to override the AF but when I do, it usually needs to happen quickly...

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.

The are out there. Last August we met some girls who saw one on the trails east of Jackson.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

They are. Hard to photograph...

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.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Oops! Yep, we all make mistakes...

"Photography is a brief complicity between foresight and luck." John Stuart Mill congratulation Steve beautiful photography

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you 🙏

There are different types of luck. Being knowledgeably prepared can be one of the best types. Nice image !!!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

👍

I'm so itching for this lens. After using 600mm F4 I think I wait for 600mm PF. Common Nikon what you waiting for?😁

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Yep, I’m interested in checking it out too...

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?

@forsterl.stewart414

5 жыл бұрын

@Geoff Longford true that d.o.f. with super telephoto is inches.

Skills as a photographer, getting all excited and missed my wording 😂

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.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Haha, wow, yeah that sounds freaky

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 :)

Great story and image Steve. I hope you stopped and got a lottery ticket on your way home.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Hmm I didn’t... but I’m pretty sure I’m going to win the 1.6 billion $ jackpot this week!

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.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Cool, thanks for watching!

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.. 😳

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.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

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.

Lucky man!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

👍

Hey, you're good at being a story teller too!

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks 👍

mate genuine question.... when doing what you do (looking for Lions etc) why don't you have your camera settings on auto?

@BillFerris

5 жыл бұрын

Steven, in that situation - well lit with animal in tall grass - a camera in full auto may have chosen a too-slow shutter speed or a too-small aperture (not shallow enough depth of field). My guess is that Steve wanted a shallow depth of field to quickly put the grass immediately behind a potential wildlife/mountain lion shot out of focus. I would also guess he was using a shutter speed between 1/500 and 1/1000 to account for the possibility of a moving/running animal shot. The lens being wide open at f/5.6 would also help manage ISO at that shutter speed...allowing the camera to be at ISO 800 as opposed to 1600 or higher. Of course, I could be totally off base in the above and, if so, I would hope Steve will have an opportunity to respond and add a bit more context on the settings he chose.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Yep, full auto doesn’t give me aperture control.

@wodzimierzwojciechowski5314

5 жыл бұрын

Full auto is a bad idea - you just don’t have enough control over shutter speed. But setting your ISO to 800 is also not very wise. Check out Auto ISO. Steve Perry made a great film about it.

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.

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

I had surgery a couple of months ago to fix my hearing👍👍 the surgery was called a stapedectomy

Would you steer away from using the D500 with this lens or is the D850 the best option

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

It will work great with a D500. It will just have field of view equivalent of 750mm. 👍

Thumbs up,watch when I get home🤓

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

😂haha

You want to travel light, so mm why the extra 300gms for the battery grip ?

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

Because I like it.

You make your own luck, but you need skill as well to capture this in just a few seconds - stunning image Steve

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

👍

Just 👍👍👍👍👍👍😍😍😍😍😍

@SteveMattheis

5 жыл бұрын

🙏

What time is the picture shown?