Black panthers are magnificent creatures that are also relatively uncommon. Will Burrard-Lucas had made it his mission to photograph this gorgeous animal, and in 2019 he released his first collection. But he wanted to go one step farther with his proposal. He produced a number of challenging photographs of a black panther and a starry sky, but they were well worth the trouble.
Will knew where he might find an African black leopard, also called a “black panther,” from his previous endeavor. In a blog post, he continues, “I was eager to make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He then made another trip to Kenya with the intention of adding more of his distinctive midnight wildlife photographs to his collection.
As you might have guessed, it might be difficult to catch both animals and stars in the same photograph. It can be quite difficult to work with an endangered species like the black leopard. Despite the challenges, Will was adamant that he would complete the most challenging photograph of his career.
The magnificent black leopard from Will’s earlier images usually resides on Luisa Ancilotto’s property, along with another spotty male. She and her colleagues gave Will free reign to set up camera traps and discover areas.
Will continues, “It appeared that the black leopard was now foraging farther away as he avoided a larger male and sought out a safe territory of his own. As a result, he passed Will’s camera traps far less frequently than before, which further reduced his chances of getting the perfect shot. The large male with spots, however, was present quite frequently. The first Will to be captured with the starry sky as a backdrop was him. He wasn’t the leopard Will was hoping for, but the picture turned out great nonetheless. It may be my favorite image of a spotty leopard I’ve ever taken, so the photographer says, “I wasn’t too disappointed.”
There were numerous elements that needed to line up for the picture he had in mind. Will required a clear sky, but this wasn’t always possible.
For the picture he had in mind, several things had to fall into place. Clear skies were necessary for Will, but they weren’t always available.
Despite a few lovely pictures, Will was unable to see what he was hoping for. But he persisted in trying. He checked his cameras after six months of various difficulties and discovered these:
The starry sky and the strong black cat “posing” in front of this enchanted landscape provided the exact images he had hoped for.
Below are several BTS images as well as some unsuccessful attempts to capture the black leopard. You can get Will’s new book Black Leopard here, which contains a tonne of more never-before-seen images of the leopard, and see more of his work on his website, and Twitter.
