Golden King

Golden King

 

I have always been a night owl and I despise waking up early. Except when I am in nature – then I wake up before dawn to ensure I get to make the most out of the early morning hours. The animals are more active at this time and you may get a chance to photograph them in exquisite light like this.

This is Romeo 2, who was on honeymoon with one of the Enkoyonai pride lionesses in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy bordering the Masai Mara in June 2015. The mornings and afternoons had been quite overcast during our time there resulting in dull light, but not on this particular morning. So I was quite pleased when Romeo decided to take a stroll in the open so that I could photograph him bathed in some beautiful light. When the sun is low I tend to favour backlighting, as in this case. This is easy to achieve in the Mara Conservancies as off road driving is permitted and thus you can photograph from any direction you wish to, provided you are not in the way of other vehicles.

Sadly for Romeo a couple of days later “his” girl was seen honeymooning with another lion – clearly being photogenic is not enough to keep a lioness’s attention for long!

Techs: Canon 5D Mark III | Canon 200-400 f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X @560mm | f5.6 | 1/640s | ISO 250