Shooting Tigers – the photographers blog Number One with Adrian Steirn

Adrian Steirn photographed his first wild tiger in Nepal. He was on an expedition to find one of the cats in order to highlight the pressures that the tigers of that region face. On the final day of the ten day trip Steirn spotted a tiger from the river. He stalked him through the reeds while the Nepalese guides stayed back to allow him to get the shot.

“I went in there knowing what I was doing, I had the wind with me, and literally popped up and there the tiger was sitting in the water. He looked almost as surprised as I did,” Steirn says. He proceeded to capture an image of him coming out of the water about 15 – 20 metres away. “It was probably one of the greatest professional moments of my life,” he says.

It’s no secret that tigers are under serious threat, which is why Steirn takes the approach that he does to photographing them. “The thing that’s missing in conservation is this dialogue and understanding of people who will never see a tiger and therefore convincing them that a tiger is still relevant in 2015,” says Steirn. He believes that  by telling compelling stories  to a broad audience momentum to generate positive change can be created. Educating people about the value of the tiger, being cognisant of the fact that these animals will remain very rare and that they are going to live in isolated areas is key. Steirn believes that “the more that people understand that conservation is actually self preservation, the greater the chance these big animals have of survival.”

On his experience with tigers and being in their presence Steirn says: “All these things I read as a kid like The Jungle Book, came flooding back. They really are genuinely beautiful”.

Steirn was born in Sydney Australia, and as a child travelled to Africa with his family. It was during these trips that he fell in love with the continent, and as an adult decided to make it his home. On one particular trip, while fooling around with his father’s camera, Steirn uncovered a passion for the art of photography, stating  that it “changed my perception on the world”.

Now an award-winning photographer and filmmaker he lives by the ethos that a good photograph is one that tells a story.

Discover more about Adrian at:

Website Link – www.adriansteirn.com
Facebook – Adrian Steirn https://www.facebook.com/adriansteirn
Twitter – @adriansteirn https://twitter.com/adriansteirn
Instgram – @Adriansteirn https://instagram.com/adriansteirn