A love for big cats and the mythology that surrounds them has been the driver of this extraordinary life of an incredible wildlife photographer.
Chrissy Mouzon, 24, has worked as a wildlife filmmaker and photographer for three years and has been shooting since she was 13 years old.
She told foxnews.com.au, “I have always loved big cats, I grew up going to big cat shows and being fascinated by their lifestyle. The myth of the leopard led me to become a photographer which has really allowed me to take these amazing pics.”
Photography, like her life, was always her first love. But when she was 16 she couldn’t afford it.
“Photography is an expensive hobby for anyone at my age so until then I had to live off my own income and fortunately made a decent living with gigs and scholarships from various agencies.”
The photography bug wasn’t bred by chance either.
Mouzon told foxnews.com.au, “It was my father’s hobby so I always knew it was something he would love to share with me but I never thought it would take off.”
She said, “Last year, two biannual auctions in Melbourne, had a lot of photos up for grabs that I loved so much and decided to check out so I found the bidding all started at $1,000 for a photo just showed over a year old so I put my name up and went to a second auction where an auctioneer asked a bidding war started by $5,000. The price went up so fast and when I saw it that all I could think of was, ‘That is only $1,500 and I can buy him!’ so when it sold for $7,000 I knew it was for the right thing so it was a job well done!”
The photo that sold for $7,000 was one Mouzon grew up admiring.
Mouzon explained, “It was a shot taken in a forest in south-west China and a cute, long legged male leopard came up alongside my father who was shooting and asking him how he could get the best shots of the beast. My dad told me that I needed to take a photo of myself in the shot then we would compare.”
Mouzon’s own big cat photos feature lion, cheetah, and tiger images.
Mouzon said of those images, “They’re from China and I can’t recall the source but I would like to get hold of the source so it may be explained to me more.”
She said she has her favourite shooting spots and foods.
Mouzon explained, “They all are a mixture of different places because I shoot whatever I get the chance to but they are some of my favorite places are in Beijing, South Australia, South Africa, and Nepal.”
“I prefer fruit in mid-level photos but would also shoot fish in a bottle or exotic wallabies in northern Australia.”