The Kings Road
A frontal shot of a male African Lion walking along a dirt road.
A frontal shot of a male African Lion walking along a dirt road.
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Dec, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This image was taken in the Pilanesburg National Park, South Africa. It was during my training to become a field guide.Time
While training to become a field guide, I was lucky enough to have access to a game viewer (Land Rover) when ever I needed one. This particular shot was taken in the late afternoon while we were on a staff game drive on a road that is only accessible to certain member of the Parks Board. This particular lion is from the 'Western Pride' which is very rarely seen in the park, as there are no public roads there. It certainly was a fantastic moment for me.Lighting
The lighting in this image was all natural. It was an overcast day, hence the soft light, however it worked in my favour for this image.Equipment
This image was shot using a Canon 5D MKII, and a Canon 100mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS and nothing else.Inspiration
I love nature photography and will photograph just about anything in the wild. The fact that this lion was part of such a rarely seen pride made me crave for a decent shot. We set out that day to find this pride of lions and we eventually found them, that was my inspiration to capture this magnificent creature.Editing
Lucky enough the lighting was perfect so I did not have to do much processing on this image. I did slightly sharpen it and add a vignette to draw focus to the main subject, being the lion.In my camera bag
Photography equipment is extremely expensive so I have not managed to upgrade my equipment for some time. What I normally have is my Canon 5D MkII, Canon 100-400mm, Canon 100mm Macro, 50mm f/1.4 and the standard 24-105mm that came with my camera. I also have a Canon Speedlite but for some reason I prefer natural lighting and very rarely use my flash.Feedback
If you are looking to take a photo like this or any other wildlife/nature photo, the best advice I can give anybody is, have lots of patience. I have waited in one spot for more than three hours before waiting, and I eventually got an amazing shot of a bird diving. We drove around for nearly 5 hours trying to find the pride that this lion belongs to, and the patience really paid off.
