About Me

I've always been passionate about animals, especially felines; and, I love traveling the world to see wild and endangered animals in their natural environment.

I strive to bring smiles to animal lovers, to encourage individuals to follow their passion, and to bring more awareness to the plight of precious endangered animals.

In my galleries, I showcase real stories - polar bear moms protecting and teaching their young, leopard cubs growing up before my eyes, endangered tigers trying to survive against all odds, and lion cubs with the most endearing personalities. Imagine polar bear babies peeking up through a hole in their birth den, discovering natural light plus new sights and sounds for the first time. OMG, heart be still.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I'd be trekking up to Manitoba, Canada, near the Arctic Circle in winter, to photograph polar bears babies outdoors in minus 40 - 50F temps. I grew up in sunny California, live on a tropical island, and only experienced snow twice in my adult life before becoming mesmerized by the smiling polar puff balls.

At the oppposite of the spectrum, I'm miserable in extreme heat. Yet, I'd travel back to India in 115F temps if locals tell me about new tigers cubs, especially from favorite tiger moms. Ditto for African leopard and cheetah cubs. But that's where I draw the line; i.e., you won't see me trekking to places with creepy crawlers, venues that involve motion sickness, or hiking due to a nasty triple ankle break. But hey, it could be worse.

I photograph with Canon professional bodies and lenses ranging from 14mm to 800mm. And, I share advanced photography and travel tips on my blog called Chris Prestegard Travel Tip Central.

For relaxation, I love spending quality time with family, friends and our feral cat; entertaining with my own adaptions of gourmet ethic cuisine, collecting semi-precious beads and designing necklaces; and reading mystery/hero novels, With prompting from my very supportive husband, I also work out with a trainer in order to carry my heavy photo gear.

When time allows, I make prints for African oriented galleries, assisting clients and interior decorators with the selection process based on needs and objectives. Project pricing is available upon request.

In my previous life, I was a Type A workaholic in the technology field (network, computers and software) responsible for sales/marketing, business development/planning and software consulting groups.

Today, I am a workaholic of my own making. Maybe I'm wired that way. Or, it's because I was raised by an undercover tiger mom who in her mid-80's uses three networked computers (Mac and PC) with two monitors and an ipad; who still can cook a full Thanksgiving or Asian spread; and, who still does billable hours for a CPA firm. My siblings and I complain that the bar keeps raising. Luckily, my husband and I moved to an island in the Pacific Ocean so that we can turn some of it off and to focus on our well being.

Chris

chrisprestegard@yahoo.com