Wild Bill’s best friend is Doc Antle, known for his South Carolina and Miami forty-acre ranches that house the world’s rarest animals. The ranch specializes in the breeding of animals to preserve that which is becoming extinct in the wild. At any one time Doc will have 50 tigers, 8 lions, a selection of leopards and other animals, and - get this - four 1,000 lb. giant ‘ligers’! Believe it or not, these are a cross between lions and tigers, which is a phenomenon that never happens in the wild. The Doc is known for financing this venture by supplying the animals for such productions as Ace Venture, Dr. Dolittle, Jungle Book and numerous TV productions, print ads and feature movies.

Wild Bill’s photographic adventures with the cats are never ending. When he was on a shoot in Las Vegas, working with a performing magician to create the illusion that the magician was levitating, a tiger was placed underneath him for effect. To give the room an aura of mystery, a purple glow of smoke was introduced from a special effect smoke machine. The tiger, which had never seen smoke before, bolted and started bouncing off the walls in fright. According to Wild Bill, “the only thing more dangerous than an angry cat, is a scared cat!” The trainer took three minutes to calm him down, and that felt like three hours. Bill picked up a tripod in defense, and comments that he resigns himself to losing a hand in this business while shoving a camera down the throat of a cat if that cat choses to attack. That is just a risk of the business.

According to Wild Bill, a carnivore has one focus in mind, and that is to eat you. So, when working with cats, one must be FOCUSED, with absolutely no extraneous thoughts. “The animals are trained, but never tame, like a dog with 1000 years of domesticity bred into them.” The cats are also never drugged, and all have their teeth and claws in order to preserve their personality. “If you know the cat, and watch closely for a personality change, you can switch the cat out for another one when trouble is brewing.”

Wild Bill has learned the hard way how to handle the animals, as he had been ‘opened up’ on occasion. Once his assistant threw a Tenba case aside and a lion grabbed it. Wild Bill tried to grab it back and the lion ripped his hand wide open. “Following protocol is a must with these animals. They are so quick and precise that they react fast.” The key is to attract the animal’s attention, and that should always be left to the trainer.

Even enjoying a leisurely shoot in his New Hampshire studio can be an adventure. During an elegant lingerie shoot with a beautiful model, the poor girl was draped around a lion for dramatic effect. Unfortunately, after ten minutes on the set, she suddenly changed positions to relax. Once again, this is breaking protocol. Being territorial, lions will think that food is being taken away from them. The cat grabbed the girl in order to hold onto her. Instantly the trainer drove his fingers down the lion’s nostrils, and his hand down the lion’s throat to grab onto his tongue. Wild Bill was able to pop the model out of the cat’s clutches, and was in turn grabbed by the lion. He got free of the lion, focusing on the thought that - “no one is going to die in my studio today!’ The model had 65 stitches in her head, Wild Bill had a dislocated shoulder, and they all walked out of there alive.

These examples are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ for the wild adventures of Wild Bill! WWW.WILDBILLSTUDIOS.COM

For more of Bill's images:
http://www.indexstock.com/store/search.asp?SearchStr=///direct 305PHOTOGCODE