From the elusive puma to staggering peaks: Photographer captures the magic of Patagonia in a set of stunning images (no wonder he has 1.3million Instagram followers)
- Finnish photographer Konsta Punkka flew 8,000 miles to Chilean Patagonia to snap the elusive puma
- While he was there, he also took magical images of the area’s epic mountains and its resident guanacos
- Konsta told MailOnline Travel: ‘The landscape has it all. From glaciers to mountain ranges and green forests’
Advertisement
Finnish photographer Konsta Punkka flew 8,000 miles to Patagonia from his home country to snap the elusive puma – and luckily, the creature played ball.
It showed up seven days into his 10-day expedition and he took some magical pictures of it, as well as some stunning images of the area’s epic peaks and resident guanacos (a relative of the llama).
As you can see.
One of Konsta’s shots of the elusive puma in Patagonia. It took him seven days to spot one of the creatures
Konsta captured this close-up image after stationing himself close to bushes that were supposed to be the puma’s midday resting area. He says this shot is one of the highlights of his career so far
Konsta 26, travelled to the Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia as part of a team making documentary Exploring Earth for Finnish broadcaster YLE.
He told MailOnline Travel: ‘When we finally found the pumas it was an incredible moment.
‘We spent an afternoon and an evening following them from a safe distance.
‘After so many hours of looking for them, there they finally were and I couldn’t believe it.
‘First, we photographed them on a hill and the plan was to try to frame them with the Torres Paine peaks.
As well as snapping images of the pumas, Konsta captured stunning photos of Patagonia’s epic peaks and resident guanacos
Konsta said: ‘It’s definitely different to photograph the wildlife in Chile than the wildlife I am used to here in Finland’
A group of guanacos stand in the shadows of the Cordillera Paine group of mountains. The highest peak is 9,462ft (2,884m) tall
Konsta, 26, travelled to the Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia as part of a documentary-making team for Finnish TV
‘It worked pretty well but after a while, we decided to station ourselves close to a few bushes that were supposed to be their midday resting area.
‘With the help of the local Torres del Paine National Park rangers, who took us to an area normal park visitors are unable to go to, we were able to lay down close to the bushes.
‘After waiting for a few hours I managed to capture a few close-ups of a young puma who came to the entrance of the resting area. It’s definitely one of the highlights of my career.’
Guanacos, pictured, are a species native to South America and are closely related to the llama. Konsta says you can spot them all over Torres del Paine National Park and that pumas hunt them
Thanks to help from local rangers, Konsta was able to venture into parts of Torres del Paine National Park that are usually off-limits
Konsta said: ‘The Torres del Paine landscape has it all. From glaciers to mountain ranges and green forests’
The professional photographer, who has 1.3million followers on Instagram, added: ‘It’s definitely different to photograph the wildlife in Chile than the wildlife I am used to here in Finland.
‘We managed to get a beautiful mix of images of the landscape and other wildlife there such as the guanacos, which you can find all around Torres del Paine National Park.
‘The Torres del Paine landscape has it all. From glaciers to mountain ranges and green forests.’