Animus Lux
-The Ochsman Collection-
Animus Lux is the debut Ochsman Collection — Kate's most personal body of work.
Each image asks the same question: what happens when you truly look at another being? Not a glance, but a real look — the kind that holds until something in you recognizes something in them. That recognition is the heart of this collection. An elephant carrying tusks from another era. A jaguar half-submerged, watching without blinking. A bear standing still while the world rushes past it.
These are what we see.
But look deeper — past the tusks, past the rosettes, past everything that makes an animal "other" — and what's left is a being as complicated and alive as we are. Each one holds a kind of self-possession that's rare to witness, and harder to look away from. It's a kind of presence we're always trying to find in ourselves.
Animus Lux means "living light" — and that's what these images are after: the light in another being. Just as it asks you to see the light in the other, it also requires you to accept the shadow, or the animal, in yourself. The animal isn't a symbol standing in for something else. It's a fellow being, fully itself, asking to be met as one.
As within, so without.
Click on the artwork for a full-screen view.
Scroll to the bottom for series and sizing details.
A King of Kings
Amboseli National Park, Kenya
In 2024, I felt the pull to go to Amboseli and see the great tuskers, namely Craig. With climate change, wild spaces decreasing, and hunting permits allowing the killing of these magnificent rare tuskers, I felt an urgency to visit them before they were gone. I wanted to see Craig specifically. And I’m so glad that I did.
Craig was one of the last giants, carrying tusks that belonged to an earlier time. A large tusker is an elephant with tusks over 100lbs, and Craig was the king of the tuskers before his January 2026 passing. To stand before Craig was to feel both wonder and reverence — a living memory of the ancient mammoths that once roamed the earth. His gentle, wise nature left me humbled and sweetened by his presence.
I always research a new destination extensively to best prepare myself for the improvisation in the field. I envisioned a frame in my mind, of Craig, looming large above me. The moment of this image happened so quickly and felt like a blur. Thankfully, I was able to make the frame - low angle and pin sharp of this specific elephant I traveled so far to hope to see. This frame was what I’d seen in my mind, and it sends a shiver down my back to think of it.
I miss you, Craig. Thank you for allowing me to spend time with you, and for being an ambassador for the wild.
The guardian
Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
It had been a dream of mine to photograph Mountain Gorillas for years, and I felt the pull to go in April of 2026. In July 2026, I was there, spending time in the mystical ancient forests of the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and sitting across from gorillas.
It is a full on sensory experience - new sights, musky smell, stinging nettles, constant grunting chatter from the gorillas. We have just one hour with the family, and it goes by so quickly. I wanted to focus on photographing silverbacks, so I would spend the majority of my time with them, when I had the choice and could. I also wanted to be in the high-elevation hagenia forests. So that meant challenging hikes, and they were so worth it. The forests are just as much a character in the story of the mountain gorillas as the gorillas are themselves.
The conservation model in Rwanda is one of the most successful I’ve ever seen. The gorillas draw tourists from all over the world, and because of the money brought in from gorilla tourism, the entire forests are protected. Not only that, but Rwanda has plans to increase the size of the park by some 40% because gorilla numbers are growing.
The gorillas are the guardians of the forests, and all of the other plant and animal lives inside of it.
This image is a portrait of a silverback of the Umubano family called Bunyeneri, which means “little stars” in Kinyarwandan. I believe it refers to his bright eyes. This sighting happened within the first three minutes of reaching the gorilla family after our hike up what was Dian Fossey’s former trail to her Karisoke research base. It was so special to literally follow in her historical footsteps.
As I sat on a log across from this male, we watched one another, and I photographed him with the stunning hagenia trees and lobelia plants of the forest. It was everything I could’ve hoped for and more, truly a mystical scene from a dream. It felt like we were in some deep conversation about things that matter to all of us. I was starry eyed indeed.
Venus in Scorpio
Pantanal, Brazil
Patricia, the queen and grand matriarch of the Pantanal, has held my heart since 2022. I’ve spent many days with her on the river over four years. I’ve met her children, and was amongst the first to see her most recent 2025 cub, Makala, who we named.
She's the most stunning, severe-looking jaguar I've ever seen, and I've seen upwards of fifty individuals. Dangerous beauty, seductive in it — like a hot stove I have to stop myself from touching. Watching her stalk to hunt is a wicked restraint of an apex predator containing fury. There’s no jaguar like her.
This is my sexiest image, and I have this hanging, reigning, in my home. The Queen Patricia. Something about this image of her feels erotic, dangerous, mysterious, alluring — the way to submerge into intimate, romantic love that will change you. It’s the way a Scorpio approaches love - life and death, transformation, the deepest soul excavations, embracing the shadow and light within you and me.
Few dare to tread this path, and it’s all I’ve ever wanted. I’m a Venus in Scorpio.
Rapidity
McNeil River State Game Sanctuary and Refuge, Alaska, USA
While the world is an ever-increasingly more chaotic and unsure place, there is an ancient art in remaining calm. Meditation practice is about finding inner stillness. No matter what happens externally, if we maintain a center of calm, we can withstand whatever storm or chaos.
It is a cultivated practice and it makes all the difference.
In 2022, I won the necessary lottery permits for Alaska’s remote McNeil River. It is the location where the father of on-foot bear-watching developed the techniques that we use across Alaska today. These techniques keep humans and bears safe.
McNeil is completely off grid; there is no electricity, no running water, and no phone signal (a joy!). There is just a little communal cook shack, and a sexy rustic sauna that gets warmed by a wood fire, and we used a giant pot of creek water in the sauna to shower every few days. It is a camping experience where we had to bring in everything ranging from food to tents. Also, the only way to get there was by bush plane. It was absolutely my most backcountry adventure.
People are only allowed to view bears there for four days, and only ten people at a time. But, since the tides were high, and the storms rolled in, the planes could not get to us. We were happily stuck there for 8 days. I was in heaven.
The weather was stormy and howling, grey, rainy, with a few sunny spots on our first day. At night I thought our tent would blow away.
We took the same paths everyday to look for bears, carrying heavy packs with cameras. We wore chest waders and often sloshed through water up to our waists. It was so fun, and I felt so alive.
Bear viewing is based around the salmon runs. The salmon were not running at this time, so the famous McNeil River falls, which can hold upwards of 80 bears during the runs, were empty save one giant male. We sat and watched him snooze, lazily hunt zombie salmon, and watch us for a couple of days. I loved it. This massive boar maneuvered through the roaring rapids with such ease.
It was a reminder of the calm in the eye of the storm. The world may shake you, thrash you about, but it’s stay close to yourself, keeping a greater perspective, that will allow you to move peacefully. Remember, our outer world reflects our inner.
As within, so without.
The Long Walk
Maasai Mara, Kenya
I’ve always marveled at the power of a lion, the king with a majestic crown. The Mara is one of the best places in the world to photograph and spend time with lions; there are so many.
I traveled to the Mara with the sole focus of trying to make a strong image of a male lion. The other main character in the Mara is the famous flat-topped umbrella thorn acacia tree. Nothing says “Mara” more than massive skylines with these iconic trees. One of my favorite photographs, when I first got into wildlife photography, was of a lioness walking towards the camera with one of those solo trees behind her. I used that image as my phone background for years, and I longed to make photographs that looked and felt as that did. It was a beacon guiding me towards the kind of wildlife art I wished to make.
This is my love song to the photograph that inspired and guided me all those years ago.
Keep going, believe in yourself and never give up. You got this.
Gatekeeper of the west
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, USA
This piece means a lot to me, as it was the first time I was able to make the art I saw in my head. It was the art I'd been struggling so hard to make, yet believed I could one day. From the composition, the proximity to the horse, the post-processing, I finally made one image that reflected my dreams. I remember sitting at my computer in Sedona, Arizona in 2019, throwing my fists up, screaming and hollering “I got you! I got you!” because I'd finally did it. I was so proud of myself.
I made this image of a pinto horse, in Monument Valley, Arizona. Monument Valley is so raw, so stunning, and it’s special because it is Navajo land. The land feels different, sacred, timeless. I was visiting the park for my first time, on a road trip with my dog and my best friend. He even caught a photo of me and this Navajo trail horse just before I made the shot. It’s so wonderful for me to have that moment captured.
This very special piece is a reminder to keep trying. Even when we fail, we have to keep showing up, because we'll get there one day. It's a long road sometimes — but believe in yourself, work hard, keep learning, and keep getting back up on that horse.
This piece was the gatekeeper to my artistic path and aesthetic.
Fire Water
Bandhavgarh National Park, India
I believe in being called to visit certain animals and places. I have an ongoing list of animals I would love to spend time with and photograph, and places I’d love to visit, yet there is a fated, mysterious time to do so. Tigers have been on my list since I was a girl, and in 2023, I heard the call. I had watched a comprehensive documentary called “Tiger 24” about tiger conservation issues in India. It was time.
I am drawn to tigers in the water. I love terrestrial animals in the water anyways, but something about the orange-hued tigers in water captivates me. So when I decided to photograph tigers, I crafted my entire trip around increasing my chances to photograph tigers in the water.
Nature was generous, and gifted this mid-day sighting of a large male tiger cooling off in a water hole. We were the only vehicle at the sighting. We sat watching and photographing him for maybe 20 minutes, roasting in the sun in the 40degC heat. Finally, he emerged from the water, stretching as he hefted his large body out of the cool pool.
India is a spiritual country with so many cultures and beliefs. A vision of India that has always stuck with me, was that of Hindus praying in the Ganges River outside of Varanasi. This image of the tiger reminds me of that - a reverence to the gods and life-giving water.
Fire Water is opposing elements. It is the tiger’s role in India. Blending the ferocity of the dangerous yet alluring tigers, with how forests are protected because of tigers. Life taking, life giving.
True North
Yellowstone National Park, USA
True North is our reminder to trust our hearts, follow them with determination, and allow life to unfold.
Bison have led me to a life that was not my plan, and it was the greatest blessing and gift I’ve ever received. I ended up living, and working in Yellowstone for four years because of bison.
In March of 2020, I was supposed to move to South Africa. I had gained my safari guide qualifications in South Africa in 2017, and yet I had never been around iconic American wildlife; I din’t know anything about it. To say goodbye to my American life in a sweeping dramatic flare, I embarked on a cross country road trip. I had also just finished an online master’s photography course by my favorite photographer. His class featured many sessions on photographing bison in the winter in Yellowstone - something he does better than anyone else. Also, “Dances with Wolves” was my favorite childhood movie, and I’ve always been intrigued by bison. So, along my road trip, I decided to go to Yellowstone for a week to photograph bison in the snow. Goodbye America with photographing the American national mammal, or so I thought…
We all remember March of 2020 quite well, and how all of our lives were permanently altered. Well, I was on the road, when I learned that everything was shutting down, including international borders, and my move to South Africa was not possible. I was devastated, as I finally achieved the Willy Wonka golden ticket in the form of a SA visa I’d acquired only 5 days prior. It meant nothing anymore. I also had no more home other than my mother’s in the states. Since I had already paid for a week of accommodation in Yellowstone, so onto Yellowstone me and my dog went. What else was a gal to do?
My first day there, I had a giant bull bison walk down the one lane bridge within reaching distance from my car, and then saw my first grizzly bear. I was captivated. As the world continued to shut down, and in the USA eventually went on lock down, I decided to stay in Yellowstone. Then I stayed a bit longer, and a bit longer, and eventually for four years. I made a life, friends, a home, I became a better photographer and teacher, I opened my own guiding company. My life catapulted because of the bison, this teacher, and following my heart.
I eventually came to meet this photographer in person, and he invited me to accompany him as he photographed bison in Yellowstone. Complete full circle. I made his image from those shoot days.
I had this image hanging over my bed in my Montana home, it was a reminder for me to always listen to my dreams.
Follow your True North, for it will always lead you where you are meant to go.
Vogue
Amboseli National Park, Kenya
I absolutely love shafts of light through the darkness. It is one of my favorite things to make images with photographically. I truly feel like I am dancing and painting with light in those scenarios. To make an image where an animal’s face and eye catches in that plane of light feels like magic working for me.
This image feels like an editorial to me - textured fallen tree, moody skies, a sexy female cheetah staring straight at us through shadows and light. She looks like a high fashion bush model to me.
I loved Madonna growing up; she was strong, feminine, self-possessed. I would sneak and watch her MTV music videos, even though I wasn’t allowed. “Express Yourself” was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. Slick black oil, textured muscles, cat crawls, licking milk. That woman knew who she was, what she wanted, owned her sexuality and was so bold.
“Vogue” captures that same essence for me. Powerful, strong, beautiful, woman.
The Boss
Yellowstone National Park, USA
The Boss doesn’t have anything to prove. The Boss knows who they are, trusting in themselves. The Boss has a quiet confidence and their energy speaks louder than their words.
Words and easy, cheap, and can be delivered on a spiked silver tongue. Energy doesn’t lie. Your intuition doesn’t lie. In a world that uses every tactic to impregnate us with ideas that aren’t ours, we have to use discernment and critical thinking. We owe that to ourselves and others. Don’t necessarily take something at face level, reach deeper and try to challenge notions, internally and externally. That’s how we grow. That’s how we craft ourselves into self-governing entities and snip those puppet master strings.
The Boss becomes such because they take the time to quiet all that external noise, go inward, and consider.
Be your own Boss, babe.
PRINT SIZES
Animus Lux is offered in three sizes, each a limited, individually numbered edition — so you can choose the scale that's right for your space.
Classic — approx. 24 x 36" · edition of 11 · an intimate, collectible scale
Statement — approx. 40 x 60" · edition of 11 · a bold, room-anchoring piece
Exhibition — approx. 56 x 84" · edition of 11 · museum-scale, for a true showpiece wall
Pricing and availability are provided upon inquiry.
Each image is available in a limited edition, offered across three sizes. Every print is carefully produced by our print partner, Bowhaus in Los Angeles, using archival inks on museum-quality Hahnemühle Baryta paper — signed, numbered, and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.
Exact dimensions vary slightly by image orientation — precise sizing confirmed at inquiry. Each print is framed to museum standard — black grain frame, warm white mat, plexiglass — with an Optium Museum Acrylic upgrade available upon request.
As each size sells, pricing increases with availability. To acquire a piece of Animus Lux, please submit an inquiry below for pricing and availability.
“My wildlife art is my love song to the wild.”
As above, so below. As within, so without.
