hansmast

Male Lion in the Sunset

This lion scared the crap out of me. I'm normally quite unafraid on safaris, trusting the guides who say that the open-sided vehicles are seen by the lions...
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This lion scared the crap out of me. I'm normally quite unafraid on safaris, trusting the guides who say that the open-sided vehicles are seen by the lions (and other fearsome beasts) as one, big enormous animal that they can't hope to tackle. However, this lion, from about 35 feet away, began to walk STRAIGHT toward me, while looking through the open-sided safari vehicle RIGHT AT me. He only turned to go around the safari vehicle when he was about 7 feet away. It was terrifying until he turned away. Once he turned away, our driver raced ahead of him, following my instructions to place the lion between us and the sunset. Using my A7rII and an adapted Sony A-mount 70-400mm, I got this breathtaking photo at 180mm, f-6.3, 1-250th, and ISO 6400. This photo was taken at the Fairmont Mara Safari Club just outside Masai Mara in Kenya.
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