Wolfphotography.com FAQ

Thank you for your interest in my photography. Here are a few Q&A. If you have a question not covered here, please feel free to contact us. store@wolfphotography.com

Who is Monty Sloan?

Monty is the Staff Photographer at Wolf Park, a wolf educational and research facility located in Indiana. For more information about this facility please check out our website, www.wolfpark.org and to find out a little bit more about Monty, check out his personal website www.montysloan.com.

What Kind of Equipment Does Monty Use?

Monty currently uses a 16MP Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II digital camera. Previous cameras included, but are not exclusive to, a Nikon F5 (his last film camera) a 5.5MP Nikon D1x from September 2001 to December 2002; and in fairly quick succession from 2003 to 2004 a Canon 1D, 1Ds, 1D Mark II, and finally the current one purchased in Feb 2005. The quality of images from these cameras rivals that of film! Actually, the current camera is more like shooting medium format than 35mm. Considering the Nikon 1Dx, which at only 5.5MP is about the same quality as 35mm print film, has produced spectacular prints up to 20x30 inches -- you can just imagine what the latest Canon can do.

Before he went digital in the fall of 2001, he used a Nikon F5 and before that a Nikon F4. Some of his early work was done with a number of different Nikon cameras and lenses as well as both medium and some large format work. For wolves however, the large format camera would have been nothing more than an expensive chew toy so there are only landscape photos from that one.

Monty was reluctant at first to go digital and only did so with the expectation of taking photos to use as images on web sites, screen savers and the like. In waiting, technology caught up to the point where digital images rival and now exceed the quality you can achieve with 35mm film.

Are Digital Photos 'Real'?

In most cases the digital images (indicated by a file code beginning with "D") posted on Wolfphotography.com are exactly what was seen through the lens. The only changes would be the equivalent of the 'burning and dodging' he does in his black & white darkroom. However Monty sometimes likes to play in Photoshop and combine several images together to create something totally new and sometimes a bit weird. Those images are under the category of Digital Creations and are usually explained in detail in the photos descriptive text.

All prints are made on photographic paper. Most prints from negatives and any digital prints in excess of 12x18 inches are custom printed at a local lab in Lafayette, Indiana -- Color Tech. Most digital prints up to 12x18 inch are printed on Kodak Royal paper (which is the best there is -- a nice thick color photographic paper usually reserved for printing from negatives) at Helix Color Labs in Chicago. In some cases another excellent lab, Mpix, is used, especially for rush orders.

Print Sizes

The aspect ratio of 35mm film, as well as that of professional digital cameras is about 2:3 -- which is a little bit longer than standard print sizes. In other words, a full frame image is not going to be 8x10 inches, but 8x12 inches. Many of the 5x7 prints are actually closer to 5x7½ and most of the 8x10 prints are actually 8x12 inches. With the larger sizes the prints are usually cropped when printed, but this is not always the case. If you are custom matting and framing the photograph, this is not a problem, but if you are planning on a less expensive route and need a standard size, you can have Monty crop it for you. Of course in many cases this is something you can do yourself...

Is Wolfphotography.com Just Wolves?

Monty has been photographing wolves since 1984 and has worked professionally at Wolf Park since 1988. However, he has been taking photographs nearly his entire life. Although this site is mostly wolves, Monty has started posting images of other animals. In the future he plans to also include some of landscapes, sunsets and other nature photographs.

What is Wolfphotography.com and How Does it Work?

Monty has been selling his photographs at Wolf Park and a few other facilities and store for many years. He has been webmaster of the Wolf Park website since 1996. Some years ago he met Paul Hebert came out to visit the Park. He is a professional web designer.

Together they came up with the idea for wolfphotography.com, a database driven website where Monty could not only sell his prints, but manage them as a database. This allows anybody to easily search through hundreds of photographs, and someday we hope to have thousands available. The database easily allows a visitor to find a specific image. Need a photo of a black wolf howling? Simple, just search for black wolf howl and over two dozen images are displayed for your viewing pleasure. The possibilities are nearly endless.

Need a High Resolution Image for Publication or Other Commercial Use?

Monty can make any of the images on this site available as a high resolution JPG, or if need be, burned onto a CD for commercial use. Each situation is different and you will need to contact him directly at sales@wolfphotography.com or call his cell 765-532-2901.

How Long Should I Expect it to Take for My Order to Arrive?

Orders are shipped USPS from Battle Ground Indiana. Orders are filled as fast as possible, but it generally takes 1-2 weeks to fill most orders. In some rare cases it may take longer. Monty has so many photographs on the site now that it would not be possible to keep each photo in every size in stock.

If you have questions about your order status, please write to store@wolfphotography.com or call the 765-532-2901 M-F 9-5 Indiana Time. If your order is a gift, or needs to be rushed out, please e-mail or call and we will try our best.

How are Prints Shipped?

Wolfphotography.com ships photos first class using the US postal service. For Priority Mail or International orders, there is a slight extra fee.

Return Policy

We hope your prints arrive in perfect shape and undamaged. If there is a problem, please contact store@wolfphotography.com and replacement prints will be sent as soon as the damage prints are returned.

If the prints are undamaged and you are simply unhappy with them, there is a 15% restocking fee.