Our planet is full of incredible natural beauty. From the depths of the Grand Canyon and heights of the Himalaya to the deserts of Africa and rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, there are so many beautiful landscapes around the world. You could spend a lifetime exploring and photographing all that this world has to offer. While it is impossible to rank these places, I firmly believe that any discussion of the most amazing landscapes on earth needs to include Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park.

Torres del Paine is one of the crown jewels of Patagonia, a region spanning the southern most parts of Chile and Argentina. Torres del Paine is a relatively small park boasting an impressive set of rugged mountains, massive glaciers and lakes, and a whole host of wildlife. For  photographers, it is a dream location.

Torres del Paine is one of the crown jewels of Patagonia, a region spanning the southern most parts of Chile and Argentina. Torres del Paine is a relatively small park boasting an impressive set of rugged mountains, massive glaciers and lakes, and a whole host of wildlife. For  photographers, it is a dream location.

Torres del Paine would be the epicenter of our inaugural BCJ Patagonia trips. Our itinerary was expertly crafted to maximize photo opportunities in the park. We would first focus on the beautiful mountain landscapes then turning our attention to the apex predator of Patagonia: the puma. In my opinion, having a trip that has world class landscape and wildlife photography together makes this a can’t miss experience for the well rounded nature photographer.

It was with great excitement that fellow guide Matt Meisenheimer and I met our group in the beautiful city of Punta Arenas. Both Matt and I have spent significant time in Patagonia over the years and consider it one of our favorite places on earth. We were thrilled to be able to share it with our guests. After orientation and dinner, we woke the next morning and loaded up our vehicles for the trip. We would be traveling in style, three new Toyota forerunners decked out in off road studded tires. These vehicles would prove to be indispensable for allowing us access to the remote parts of the puma territory.


We began our four-hour drive to the park, stopping along the way for coffee and photos. As afternoon rolled around, we made our final turn toward the park and on the horizon, I saw the familiar silhouette of the iconic towers. Soon these epic granite peaks, of which the park is named after, were towering over us as we made our way through the park entrance. It was good to be back.

Our accommodations for these trips are located in a ridiculously beautiful setting right in the heart of the park. The hotel, sitting on a small island in Lake Pehoe, has to have one of the most beautiful views of any hotel in the world. From the island, the iconic summits of Torres del Paine dominate the skyline. It is a unique spot and perfectly situated for all our shooting locations.

Patagonia is known for its volatile weather. The mountains generate a lot of precipitation and the wind can be unrelenting. It is said that the southern part of Patagonia is “The land swept by the broom of God.” In summertime, the winds can be downright debilitating, making hiking or even driving a real challenge. In May, however, fall is giving way to winter and the winds are much calmer. This would be a huge advantage for us, not only in our general comfort, but our photography. Both of our groups were able to do something I almost didn’t think was possible in Torres del Paine: photograph a reflection!

The landscape portion of both trips got off to a great start. We were able to shoot beautiful sunrise reflections in Lago Nordenskjöld, backlit portraits of the Horns, and snow ripping off the shoulder of Paine Grande. We also took the boat tour on Grey Lake to see the Grey Glacier. The timing couldn’t have been better as the sun broke through the storm right as we made it to the glacier. We were able to shoot backlit ice under a fresh dusting of snow. Torres del Paine was delivering epic opportunities at every turn.

As the week went on, we also made efforts to photograph the various animals that live in the park. Guanacos, a distant relative of the camel and a staple of Chilean Patagonia, were constant subjects for us. These charismatic animals were so fun to shoot and we were always ready to stop for them if the situation looked good. We also had a lot of great opportunities with several bird species including beautiful Austral Pygmy Owl.

Our main wildlife objective was the puma. Known by many names, the puma has the largest geographical distribution of any big cat. Despite their range extending from the Yukon to Patagonia, Torres del Paine is by far the best place to see and photograph them. These cats, protected from hunting and sitting atop the food chain, have also gotten use to people over the last few generations. Many of them are quite calm in the presence of people. This allows us to track and photograph them by foot, in their environment, on their terms. This is something that just isn’t possible with other big cats around the world.

We would do our tracking on a private ranch immediately adjacent to the park’s boundaries. This ranch formally raised sheep, but over the last few years has pivoted toward eco-tourism and puma tracking. The pumas here are totally wild, free to come and go. There aren’t necessarily more pumas on the ranch than in the park, but the advantage of the private land is the ability to track and follow the cats without being restricted to trails and roads. We used some of the best trackers working in Patagonia. They were out early every day looking for movement, radioing in what they had been seeing. Some days we were on cats right away, others we were on the hunt for hours listening for alarm calls from the guanacos.

The days were different, but always productive. I was struck by what a unique situation this is to photograph these cats in a really intimate setting. To walk with a puma in their territory is really a special experience. 

This year there was a particular cat who was drawing a lot of attention. Petaca, a well known female around 6-8 years old, had a pair of young cubs with her. She is a puma who is very used to people and had been bringing her cubs out with some frequency. We were all hopeful to get a glimpse of her and the playful cubs.

Not only did we get a glimpse of her, but she would go on to be the highlight for both of our groups. Each group had multiple sightings of Petaca and her cubs. We saw her in fresh snow, climbing ridges, playing with the cubs, and sleeping by the lake. We were the paparazzi and Petaca was the star. At one point, she walked right toward our group. Our trackers whispered for us not to move and let her go where she wants. Frozen, I watched out of the corner of my eye as Petaca walked right by us, mere feet away. Her cubs came bouncing along, following mom. It was an amazing experience and something I don’t think any of us soon forget.

As we traversed the park on our way back to Punta Arenas. I made sure to take in the mountains one last time. This is a special place. One of those bucket list locations that lives up to the expectations. I always feel like Torres del Paine leaves a bigger impression on me than anywhere else in the world. It is a place that is close to my heart and makes me happy just knowing it exists. The experiences we had will stay with me for a long time. Thank you to all our guests who made the trip a great experience. I am already looking forward to next year’s trips!