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Eyes to Eyes

Young lioness Liuwa - Lion (Panthera leo). An animal in human care.

Young lioness Liuwa - Lion (Panthera leo). An animal in human care.
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NIKON D5

Aperture 2/1 ISO 1000 Shutter 1/1250 Focal Length 200/1

upload_date

Jul, 2018

Views

1073

Likes

+133

Awards

Contest Finalist in The Natural Planet Photo Contest

Pro Photographer of the Month

Contest Finalist in Monthly Pro Photo Contest Vol 43

Peer Award

+50

Absolute Masterpiece

Top Choice

Magnificent Capture

Superb Composition

Superior Skill

Genius

Outstanding Creativity

Top Ranks

Top 30 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

I created this photo during private photo event with my good friends photographers in the Czech Republic. We took advantage of a unique opportunity to take a pictures of a young female Lion, which moves free in the countryside. The scene was carefully selected to faithfully match the natural biotope of the lion in Tanzania. Although it was the young animal in human care, this action was not without risk. The lioness walked about 2-3 meters from us. It was an unusual experience to be in the presence of this majestic animal.

Time

It was May, early in the morning, about 6 o'clock in the morning, it was very damp and a morning fog floated above the meadow.

Lighting

The morning fog over the landscape gave the our scene the ideal diffuse light. Therefore on the plants and the fur are no highlights and there are no significant shadows on the lioness.

Equipment

I worked with my favourite very fast digital camera Nikon D5 and with my new lens Nikkor 200 f/2,0. I stabilized this set on a carbon tripod Really Right Stuff TVC-32G Versa, thanks to him I could be very low over the vegetation.

Inspiration

I love nature and especially wild animals. But I'm very busy at work, now I can not take part in a time-consuming wilderness expedition. And I think that collective photographic expedition directly into the habitat of the endangered big cats is not correct. That's why I took advantage of the unique possibility of assisted or arranged photographing of a wild animal in human care, that does not shake the human presence and creates only small risk for the photographer.

Editing

I love natural photos. Shots without big adjustments. I try to capture all my photos so I do not have to use the post-processing. I know it is very modern and trendy today, but I do not work with PS or LR or other sophisticated post-processing software. I invoke my NEF only in Nikon View and Nikon Capture and make only minor edits. Maybe my photos could be even more attractive, but I want to show real reality.

In my camera bag

The contents of my robust Tamrac bag is primarily a powerful digital camera that I can rely on in every weather. Now I'm normally using the body Nikon D5 and the backup body Nikon D850. I normally wear Nikkor lenses 24-70 f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8. These "workers" have always been with me. On the "macro" action I take the excellent old micro lens Nikkor 200 f/4 or micro lens 105 f/2,8. For animals and birds photography I need to pack "heavier weight" - I'm using the lens Nikkor 400 f/2.8 and now also a new lens Nikkor 200 f/2 lens.

Feedback

When it comes to photographing the endangered animal species, I recommend the form of "assisted (arranged) photography". It's about photographing a species of wild animal that is in human care. The animal is tame, working well with it, and it is especially safe for humans. Most importantly, the photographer does not disturb wild animals in their natural biotope. Today there is a trend commercial group photographic expeditions to exotic countries. From the yield is funded the rescue of endangered animal species. But too frequent visits of groups of people in animal biotopes are very disturbing and stressful for endangered animals and their food chain. These expeditions can become very destructive for small animal populations and, instead of rescuing animals, can speed their extinction. We all photographers have to think, whether our money really helps those animals.

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EuroBen

Eyes to Eyes

Young lioness Liuwa - Lion (Panthera leo). An animal in human care.

Behind The Lens

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