travisbester

Lion Cub

Four-month-old lion cub, taken in the beautiful Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana. Very encouraging to see such an abundance of wildlife, especially during such dr...
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Four-month-old lion cub, taken in the beautiful Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana. Very encouraging to see such an abundance of wildlife, especially during such dry, drought-like conditions.
Read less

Canon EOS 7D

settings

Aperture 56/10 ISO 1600 Shutter 1/400 Focal Length 400/1

upload_date

Aug, 2016

Views

275

Likes

Awards

Great Shot

Absolute Masterpiece

Superb Composition

Peer Award

Outstanding Creativity

Top Choice

Top Ranks

Top 30 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

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Top 30 rank

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photography was captured in the Mashatu Game Reserve, which is located in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve in Botswana.

Time

I was on safari or commonly known as 'game drive' in Africa. We left Mashatu main camp at 3:00pm after a magnificent high tea. After driving with our professional guide Dan, around the reserve for a couple of hours, we came across two lionesses with 3 cubs each. It was late afternoon around 5:30pm and the sun was setting fast. The lions were situated on an ant hill, next to a river bank.

Lighting

Shooting in twilight conditions can be challenging, especially when you don't have the ability to use a tripod. Luckily there was just enough soft light coming through the trees which allowed me to capture this photograph. I feel the slight bokeh effect behind the lion cub gives the photograph a sense of depth and positively adds to the overall image.

Equipment

Canon 7D, 100 - 400mm Canon Lens.

Inspiration

I love the Africa bush and the vast array of animals which inhabit the beautiful continent. This passion and love for wildlife inspired me to venture into the bush and to capture and share its magnificent raw beauty.

Editing

Yes, unfortunately, a camera cannot capture exactly what the human eye can see. I take all my photographs is camera RAW which is notorious for being flat. In my post-processing, I simply use Adobe Photoshop CC to bring out the colour and vibrancy of the image.

In my camera bag

I have the following in my camera bag, - Canon 6D (full frame) - landscape - Canon 7D (crop frame) - Birds & Wildlife - Canon 24 - 105mm lens - Landscapes and Portraiture - Canon 100 - 400mm lens - Birds & Wildlife & Landscape. - Manfroto TripPod - Canon Speed light - Micro fibre cloth

Feedback

Capturing African wildlife can be challenging. It's all about location, location, location. The animals are wild and unpredictable; there is no guarantee you will see them but going to a well-known game reserve like Mashatu will dramatically increase your chances of seeing the beautiful wildlife. The professional staff and guides are fantastic they specialise in tracking and finding the wildlife. A word of advice always have your camera ready when you are in the African bush, you never know what you might come across. In this case a pride of lions with six beautiful cubs.

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travisbester

travisbester

Lion Cub

Four-month-old lion cub, taken in the beautiful Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana. Very encouraging to see such an abundance of wildlife, especially during such dr... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow travisbester

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Four-month-old lion cub, taken in the beautiful Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana. Very encouraging to see such an abundance of wildlife, especially during such dr...
Read more

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Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.