A British photographer risked his life as he captured these wildlife shots. Jonathan Griffiths held his camera just inches away from tigers, bears and cougars as he took the pictures

The 32-year-old endured minus 40 degree Celsius temperatures at a Canadian wildlife breeding reserve as he gained the trust of each animal over two or three days

He enticed them with meat – mainly chicken – to photograph them close-up in his 15-month project

In one photograph a lion demonstrated its raw power by swiping at his camera…

…and in another shot a tiger left condensation on his lens with its breath

Jonathan, from Egham, in Surrey, only got a camera two years ago as a birthday present from his fiancee with the intention of photographing their newborn son

However, after spending time at the local zoo, Jonathan decided he wanted to take pictures of powerful predators in the wild and researched the best places to spot them

The currency trader flew to Canada, where he stayed in a lodge by a wildlife breeding reserve. He would wake up at 5.30am each day, trekking off mountain trails in search of snow leopards, wolves and black leopards. A guide at the wildlife reserve stood by his side as he came face to face with some of nature’s most dangerous animals to capture them in intimate detail

Jonathan said: "At first I was quite nervous being so close to the animals as I did not know what to expect and they are wild…

 

For Jonathan the scariest moment came when he came face-to-face with a black leopard, "which made me fear for my life and I thought it could attack at any moment. It was was just mean and did not like humans full stop"

"My family think I’m a bit nuts and worry about the consequences if something went wrong. But I just like getting as close as possible to get a different kind of shot." On the approach….a Bobcat

A Siberian tiger bares its teeth

A Brown bear covered in snow

Two Brown bears roar at the camera

A Siberian tiger