Kenyan Lion Cub
Lion cub on the Masi Mara, Kenya
Lion cub on the Masi Mara, Kenya
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Apr, 2014Views
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Awards
Zenith Award
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2020 Choice Award
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Contest Finalist in The Battle Of Professionals Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Animal Kingdom Photo Contest Vol 1
Curator's Choice
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Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken on the first day of a week long safari on the Masi Mara in Kenya. Our guides were Jonathon and Angie Scott who were presenters for the BBC show Big Cat Diaries which was shown in the USA on Animal Planet. We meet them on a month long trip to Antarctica. This lion cub was lounging with other cubs and lionesses.Time
This was taken in the afternoon a couple of hours before sunset. It was mostly overcast when the image was captured.Lighting
The lighting was all natural.Equipment
I used a Canon 1D-Mark III with a Canon 600mm f/4l lens. The ISO was set to 200. Aperture was set to f5.0 with a shutter speed,of 1/100. I rested the lens tripod mount on a large bean bag.Inspiration
As with many wildlife photos you need to first get to know your subject. We were in an open area and the lions were gathered around a mound. This one cub seemed tired of playing and wandered over to this stump on the mound. I followed looking through the viewfinder and when the cub struck this pose I started shooting. When we got back to camp that night and went over our images for the day both Johnathon and I expressed the thought that boy that image is going to hard to beat!Editing
I did a minimal contrast correction and brought out the blue more in the sky.In my camera bag
On this particular trip I had the 600mm, 24-105mm and 70-200mm lens. I had a polarizing filter, lens wipes which were necessary due to the dust. I also had a small towel that I used to cover the camera as we drove from one location to the next to help keep the dust off.Feedback
No 1, know the subject, the environment, and their habits in that environment. No. 2 be patient. On a couple of days it was not until near the end of the day that the best shots presented themselves. No. 3 do not be afraid to try something new, experiment and do not be afraid to break the rules. At sunset one day there was a eagle in a tree top. It was going to be a silhouette shot onto the sunset. When the eagle took off I snapped one image and panned with the eagles fight path and snapped a second image. Later I was able to combine the two images and the result was the illusion of two eagles one just lifting off from the tree and the other eagle soaring away into the sunset.
