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Lion portrait



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Got this shot of a lion looking straight at me in Tanzania. with the 400mm lens I felt like he was right in front of me, ok, he was still very close but got me ...
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Got this shot of a lion looking straight at me in Tanzania. with the 400mm lens I felt like he was right in front of me, ok, he was still very close but got me even closer
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2 Comments | Report
michaelsabol
 
michaelsabol January 30, 2019
Speechless
nikkidgakin Platinum
 
nikkidgakin April 04, 2022
Stoic
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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo on my 2nd last day in the Serengeti. The previous days we were waiting a number of times in the hope of witnessing a hunt but all without success. On that morning we left the campsite and after a 15min drive or so, saw a buffalo and 2 male lions. We knew they were about to go for the kill. We waited a bit and as expected, the 2 males went for the buffalo. We were the only car there and saw it from the first moment. With a 400mm lens it was like I was being part of it.

Time

The shot was early in the morning, just after breakfast. So around 7am. The sun was still low and we had strong shadows.

Lighting

I went in with the idea to shoot black and white so the strong shadows were in my favour. We were unable to move much around so am glad the sun was were it was

Equipment

I used a 5d mark iii for this shot with a 400mm 5.6 and had my Mark ii with the 70-200 2.8 to get some wider shots of the scene. I was resting the camera on the window ledge.

Inspiration

I went to Serengeti with the aim to shoot wildlife, main goal was to capture big cats. My driver did all he could to find those big cats, this morning we were very lucky

Editing

I did some work on Lightroom, mostly adding contrast and of course remove saturation

In my camera bag

At that point I had 5d iii and ii in my bag, 400 5.6, 70-200 2.8 and 24-70 2.8. Since then my bag increased. Now I have as well the 5dsr for some very high res images as well at a old 600mm f4 and an old 300 2.8, both without IS so tripod is needed. Not sure yet how I will manage to get all the gear on my next trip as it weights a good 15kg and takes 3 bags/ cases

Feedback

For wildlife be patient. Enjoy the time you are out. It takes luck to spot a hunt, some see it on the first day others can spend a week with no luck or see it but far away. A private driver helped me big times as that way I was able to tell him what I wanted to see and if I wanted to stay an extra hour, I did not need to convince another 5 people in the car.

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