I’ve posted previously that I thought it was very strange that he would go out on a whim just to photograph bighorn sheep — if he was just a casual snapshot taker, it seems like going through great lengths for something that would be relatively trivial to a casual photo taker, and on the other hand, if he were big into wildlife photography, then yes, they go through great lengths to get the shot, but don’t do it on a whim like that.
Very coincidentally, I met a guy at a breakfast of mutual friends the other day who IS big into wildlife photography, more so than anybody I’ve previously met. At the breakfast, he showed a bunch of photos of his recent trip to the Arctic Circle to photograph mostly polar bears, and I have no doubt he spent north of $5,000 on his expedition and froze a lot to do so. I mentioned Paul’s case to him, and he pretty much confirmed my same suspicions — that if he was so into wildlife photography that he had to go out on a special trip just to photograph bighorn sheep, surely he would have planned it out much more, gone out earlier, been better prepared, not gone out at the last minute, etc. Not to say it couldn’t have been impulsive, but to me, it just seems like an excuse to go out on his own.
On a side note, the photos the guy showed at the breakfast were good, but not spectacular. I think that shows how fanatical these guys can be if it’s truly their hobby. They don’t have to be professional, but even the amateurs that are crazy about wildlife photography show a great deal more dedication than Paul seemed to show. Just saying.