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On Their Own
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On Their Own

by Max Waugh

Gallery: WildlifePosted November 11, 2010232 views9 comments
Back in 2007 I visited Ngorongoro Crater as part of the usual northern Tanzania safari circuit. We came across a small pride of lions settled in the grass around midday. Before long, most of the females stood up and started ambling toward some interesting-looking zebras down by the water. However, this female and her two cubs took off in the opposite direction. They crossed the road in front of our vehicle and headed toward the center of the crater.

Canon 40D
Canon 500mm f/4 IS
ISO 125
1/320th
f/7

Max

Comments

9 comments
Comment posted by John Fan on November 11, 2010 at 9:55 PM
Lovely image! I like the way cubs look at their mother.
Registered on August 24, 2010, 135 Posts, 489 Comments
Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on November 12, 2010 at 7:19 AM
It appears very cool! All the subjects are very well placed in the frame and composition is fine here. The mom looking sideways makes a strong focal point.
Jagdeep Rajput
Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments
Comment posted by Steve Canuel on November 12, 2010 at 1:45 PM
Hey Max,
I like the diagonal created by the cubs and mom, the different angles of the faces, and the progressively sharper details.
Registered on September 12, 2010, 53 Posts, 660 Comments
Comment posted by Ingrid Vekemans on November 12, 2010 at 3:19 PM
Lovely, I love the colours, DOF and composition and would love to see it in larger format! :toast:
Registered on August 2, 2010, 138 Posts, 780 Comments
Comment posted by Gary Gulash on November 12, 2010 at 11:56 PM
Wow, they look completely unaware, or at least uncaring about your presence. I like the way the mother is in sharp focus and the the two cubs are successively less in focus. The way each lion is looking in a different direction similarly adds to the variety. Really strong diagonal arrangement of the three lions makes for a good composition I feel. I would be very pleased with this photo Max. :toast:
Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments
Comment posted by Richard Tomalty on November 13, 2010 at 10:05 AM
Great domestic scene. Like the DOF and comp in particular. Nicely done.
RickT
Registered on October 11, 2006, 212 Posts, 1610 Comments
Comment posted by Brad Hill on November 13, 2010 at 10:24 AM
HI Max,

I like the composition of this image, and your chosen depth of field works well (for me) with the placement of the cubs. Of course, the strong diagonal arrangement of the subjects caught my eye (in a positive way!). Two very minor nits (the first of which was totally out of your control): I'm left wishing that there was just a little separation between the two cubs (i.e., their bodies didn't overlap) and to my eye the grasses are just perhaps a tad too light/bright. But overall the image works real well for me...

Cheers...thanks for sharing this...

Brad
Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments
Comment posted by Robert Bunch on November 13, 2010 at 8:37 PM
Nice shot of this little family. I agree with most of the points made by the others.
Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments
Comment posted by Luca Mussato on November 14, 2010 at 5:00 PM
i like the composition; I like how the two cubs look at their mother;I also like how the lioness is patrolling the surroundings with her sight.

Cheers, Luca
Registered on November 14, 2006, 118 Posts, 855 Comments