Scary Lion
This Lioness had just finished feeding and turned her gaze to our vehicle. Scary!
This Lioness had just finished feeding and turned her gaze to our vehicle. Scary!
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Feb, 2017Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on a WorldPix photography trip to the Serengeti earlier this year. WorldPix is a non-profit that donates a portion of the proceeds from each trip as well as from photos sold back to causes near where the photos were captured.Time
This picture was taken just before sunset with the sun low in the sky.Lighting
The sun was low on the horizon for this shot and spilled through the trees to illuminate the lioness perfectly as she emerged from behind the tree. The sidelight worked perfectly.Equipment
I used my Canon 1DX Mark II with a 200-400 lens with built in 1.4X extender for this shot. This combination is my go to set up for most of my safari shots. I don't use tripods typically on safari but instead opt for beanbags which fit nicely on the sides of the vehicle.Inspiration
As is often the case, this photo was several days in the making. We found this mother lioness guarding her newborn cubs early in the week of our visit to the Serengeti. She had stowed them away in a fortress like bush in the middle of the plain. We stopped by the location almost ten times to see if there was any action. On the final night of our trip we found the mom feasting on a fresh kill inside her hideout. Within a few minutes of our arrival she left the kill and emerged from behind the tree just as the light from the near setting sun bathed her from the left. It was a great moment that I will remember forever.Editing
They say the best images don't need a lot of post-processing...well this must not be one of the best images cause I processed this a fair amount! Haha, in all honesty though I did work this image in Lightroom and photoshop to highlight the dark background and the bright emerging lion. The high dynamic range of this photo made for a challenge shot. I pushed the contrast, blacks and highlights. I increased the clarity and sharpened the photo and I layered the shot in photoshop to emphasize the blood on the chin of the lioness. Finally I burned and dodged the scene just enough to create depth and texture. I finished it off with a vignette.In my camera bag
When I'm on safari I always have my Canon 1DX attached to my 200-400 with built in extender. I'm in love with this setup! The 1DX can take up to 16 shots per second, so if I miss the moment, I can't blame the camera. This makes for some uncomfortable moments with my photography friends as I try to create other excuses for missing the shot. I usually have a second camera close by if the animals get closer than my 200mm range. For this camera, I will typically shoot a Canon Mark IV with a 24-70 attached. I also have an infrared set up which can be fabulous on safari at midday when everyone else has put away their cameras.Feedback
The main advice I can give from this picture is that the best photos often take a lot of scouting and work. we literally visited this site over and over 5 days in a row before we got this moment. We knew there was a story emerging here, but could not have predicted how it played out... until it did.
