Original photo of Ray the mountain lion before fence removal

Posted by Dennis Hernandez on the Big Photo Hunt community board.

Here’s the original image, straight from my camera. The image I “Hunted” this month was edited in Photoshop to remove the chain-link fence.

Since Mike Canzoneri asked how close I was and whether there was anything between me and Ray, it got me thinking—is this okay with everyone? Honestly, I never gave it much thought. I just wanted to be able to see Ray clearly.

I was also using a 200–600mm zoom, so I wasn’t particularly close to him. He may be injured, but he still has all his teeth and sharp claws. I’m sure there’s enough wild in him to keep strangers at a respectful distance.