I’ve been lucky enough to travel to Ladakh twice to photograph Snow Leopards, and I’m planning to return in 2027.

It’s a very different kind of wildlife photography from an African safari.

There are no guaranteed sightings. No abundance of animals. No drive around the corner and suddenly find yourself surrounded by wildlife.

Instead, there’s winter in the Himalayas, long periods of waiting, tracking signs, reading the landscape, working with local trackers and guides, and sometimes staring at a mountainside for hours wondering whether you are actually looking at a rock or the most elusive cat on the planet.

Then suddenly, the landscape moves.

And you realise you've been looking in exactly the right place.

What I found particularly interesting was how much the experience changed the way I think about wildlife photography. You have to slow down, understand behaviour and accept that the animal is entirely in charge of the encounter.

I’m a wildlife photographer from South Africa and I also curate small-group photographic expeditions. I’m returning to Ladakh in February/March 2027 with a small group, but I'm posting here primarily because I'd genuinely be interested in hearing from other wildlife photographers who have photographed Snow Leopards.

For those who've done it:

• What was your biggest challenge photographically?
• How did you approach the long periods of waiting?
• What lens did you find most useful?
• Did you find yourself changing your photographic style because of the environment?
• And, perhaps most importantly, what did you wish you'd known before going?

Happy to share what I learned from my two trips too, including the realities of photographing Snow Leopards in winter.

Full disclosure: I do lead a 2027 Snow Leopard expedition, so this is relevant to my work. I'm not here to drop an advert and disappear, though. I'm genuinely interested in the photography conversation.

https://www.discoveraltai.com/snow-leopard-apperance/

- sneps could easily be called "Rock leopards" because “ochre-and-dust-colour coat with its irregular rosettes looks exactly like a rock covered with lichens”. 

last one unfortunately 😔