Llamas and photography have always been intertwined for me as a freelance photographer with a love of the outdoors and nature in general. For many of you however it may be turned around and you have taken up photography because of your llamas.

My start with llamas came in about 1987 when my wife, Lynn, and I had our first indoctrination to llamas. We had discussed the idea of pack animals for a couple years and the llamas looked like they would work perfectly. Since we lived in town at the time making a decision that llamas were the proper animals did not mean it would happen right away. We were not to own llamas until after our move back to a more rural setting in Oregon.

By 1990, we had our own llamas and were quickly learning how to connect the llamas and the photography into the lifestyle we love. No longer were we putting 50-to-60 pound packs on our own backs, we were letting the llamas carry our supplies. We always carry a fanny pack or daypack for survival and daily need items. Personally I was, and am, still packing 25 to 30 pounds of camera gear, and the llamas are packing another 10 to 15 pounds of tripod, film, and related camera gear. When you add all those items to the normal weight of the backpack full of supplies I was really happy to have the llamas.

Something that I had learned as a kid on a cattle ranch riding horses was that the animals would spot or sense animals in the area long before I normally did. It soon became obvious that the llamas with their soft feet and quieter steps would allow us to get closer to the animals than we could have done while riding metal shod horses.

Watching the ears on the llamas has given us many good opportunities to photograph animals we may have walked by were we on our own. If the llamas hesitate in any way we are quick to look at their ears or watch their gaze to see what is interesting them. Deer in the Eagle Cap Wilderness are pretty common, but that does not mean they will be close to the trails if they hear you coming. Often you will see them moving off through the trees because they spooked before you even came into sight. With the llamas I have walked up to just a few feet of a doe before she even looked up to see what was near.

Be sure when you are hiking with your llamas that you watch them for signs of interest and look in that direction; you will often be presently surprised. The best way to do this is to have the person following alert you to their actions. If you are alone you need to pay attention to the slightest tug on the lead. A well-trained and conditioned pack llama may just walk along with a slack line and watch the game go by if they don't feel threatened. Sometimes, you as the handler miss the first subtly sign of the slower pace or little tug on the lead, thereby missing a photo opportunity.

In some wilderness areas or larger National Forests you may need to watch for bears, but they are seldom a threat to the llamas. They do, in certain areas, require that packers of any kind use bear proof containers so check with the ranger where you will be hiking to see if they are required.

Often I take a llama with me on day hikes from camp to help me scan for animals. They have, at least it seems that way, learned that I am taking them for their ability to spot game on these hikes and will stop with more authority when they are alone and we are not just hiking up a trail. I don't know if it's the fact we are normally off trail at this time or if it's the lack of a load that clues them in but something sure does.

Another way that they can be of help is if you stake them out in a meadow and then hike the surrounding areas. Periodically go to high ground, but be sure to hike just under the ridgeline, and look back at the llamas. If you are spooking out animals they will be looking that direction and thus alert you to the photo opportunity, even long range. To protect your llamas from harm if something spooks them you should use a "break-away" system on your stakes. This can be as simple as a couple loops of leather shoestrings. I have seen some people use three quarter inch rubber bands.

We have used them as decoys when we spot game near a trail. By tying the llamas to a suitable spot where you first spot the game, then moving down wind to get in a better photographic vantage point, the game will often keep most of their attention on the llamas. This allows you to get closer un-observed or at least be less of a distraction to the game.

Along with all this don't forget to use the llamas as photo subjects on the trip. Since I sometimes hike alone with just a single or a couple of llamas I often place them in locations where I can use them as perspective much as I would a hiking companion. It adds depth to an image if there is something of known size in the foreground. A tall mountain becomes a towering peak when you can see that llama in the photograph for comparison.

How far is it across that lake? By leaving a llama on the opposite side you can give a sense of width or length to the lake or meadow of interest.

The high altitude White Pines are tough trees and survive for hundreds of years while only growing to a height of a few feet. By comparing the tree to the llama you can show the small size much easier then you can tell people.

Because the llamas can go almost anywhere I can go, they are able to add perspective for distance when shown on a ridge top with that distant mountain range in the background. When you are crossing over a saddle on the trail and want to impress upon your family and friends just how far you traveled to get this shot, put the llama next to the sign naming the pass, take an image looking back, and forward to your line of travel.

Don't forget your four-legged partner once you get to camp. They are part of the experience and they like your company. Keep an open line of sight to them and your tent so you will both have a restful and trouble free night of sleep after all the hiking and enjoyment of the wonderful scenes that surround

These two photos show the affect of showing an overall shot, with the back ground in there for reference and comparison to size, and distance. The close up shot gives you more detail in the lake and shows some of the features that would be missed in a wide angle shot. Both of these are of Diamond Lake in the Eagle Cap Wilderness taken in 2002, probably late July or August. The lake is a 9 mile hike from the trailhead.