When we released this powerful image on social media, we were asked what sort of lens magnification was used. Many camera enthusiasts thought that given the dangerous subject matter, it must have been a 400mm telephoto lens or more, but this sort of distance compression would have taken the power away from the portrait. This photograph was taken with a 105mm lens, and the benefits are immediately clear. I was that close.

If a fashion photographer was working
with a top model, it is most unlikely that he or she would even carry a telephoto lens to the assignment, as the best distance to work from is anything from close to very close. Ideally, it should be no different with a predator, but clearly there are issues with proximity, which is why I often use remote controls.

In this conservation area, there is
no chance of using a remote, as it is forbidden to step foot on the ground. The only possibility is to shoot from a caged vehicle with my camera window about four feet off the ground. This means that good shooting locations are very limited, as I never really want to be above the
eye of an animal. The lower the camera, the more immersive the image.

During my reconnaissance there was just one small hill that the vehicle could get close to in the deep snow. The topography in this part of Northeast China can be extremely flat, and I just had to hope the tiger would work his way to my vantage point. Vehicles cannot
get stuck here, as that poses a logistical problem, so it was all quite a riddle. It was complicated further by the fact that the light also becomes too stark by about 10:00 a.m. in the winter. The clock ticks on a cold, clear Siberian morning in January.

It did, however, happen. The bonus was that the tiger was enormous, maybe 750 pounds, and I was working from
just five feet away. It was a high-energy moment—this is surely one of the world’s most ruthless killers.