In the lion's mouth!

Gallery: WildlifePosted July 26, 2011288 views15 comments

We were with this pride of 20 lions, comprising of 3 black-maned males, 6 females and 11 cubs early one morning in Kenya's Masai Mara. While the females and the cubs moved off to find shade, one of the cubs stayed back and decided to walk with dad. When he got too close, however, the male made as if to bite off junior's head, and a valuable lesson had been learnt - not to try one's luck with the short-tempered males.
Equip: Canon 1D Mlll, Canon 500 f4 lens with 1.4 TC
Specs: ISO 400, f7.1, 1/250s, beanbag on vehicle

Thank you for taking the time out to look, and for your comments/critiques.

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on July 26, 2011 at 2:42 AM

Ajit,

A very "tender" moment in my experience Males rarely do harm to their own offspring, but certainly like to enforce discipline.

On my monitor this looks to have a slight magenta cast?

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on July 26, 2011 at 10:41 AM

A terrific moment captured here, the father looks angry but the young one is cool !
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Christine Jackson on July 26, 2011 at 11:12 AM

Ajit,

What a gorgeous shot! Love the intensity of the eyes and the nice catch-light you have captured in the adult's left eye. The delicate quality of the light is beautiful as well. Nice Work!

Chrisie Jackson
Denver, Colorado

Registered on September 19, 2010, 20 Posts, 244 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on July 26, 2011 at 12:16 PM

Nice moment captured!
Very fine detail and perspective.
I also see the magenta cast.
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Runco on July 26, 2011 at 6:56 PM

Really cool shot Ajit, tough love at it's finest!

Registered on September 9, 2008, 77 Posts, 705 Comments

Comment posted by Suzanne Huot on July 26, 2011 at 10:11 PM

A most interesting and unusual interaction captured between Father and offspring .I really like the great detail that you captured of both the subjects together ,not always an easy thing to do when hunched over a beanbag from a jeep.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 32 Posts, 240 Comments

Comment posted by Joe James on July 26, 2011 at 10:59 PM

Nicely done Ajit! I like the vertical comp on this one a lot. The look in the male's eyes and interaction with the cub is classic.

Registered on November 20, 2009, 89 Posts, 808 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on July 27, 2011 at 8:52 AM

Hey Ajit,

Nice capture - your timing was perfect! What I like most about this image is the complete lack of apparent reaction from the cub - I can just imagine it saying "...yeah, whatever!".

RE: the magenta cast. Well, I do see it on my laptop (which is calibrated, but...) but when I open this image up on the king of colour fidelity for a portable device (my iPad) it looks just fine and without a magenta cast. So I wouldn't worry about it...

BTW - I'm not kidding about the colour fidelity of the iPad and it's usefulness as a "cheap" colour checker - tests on the original iPad show "... it really does kick sand in the screen of every laptop we've had the opportunity to evaluate. The only way we've seen to beat the colour accuracy of last year's iPad, not to mention its wide usable viewing angle, is to pit it against a decent desktop monitor." The iPad 2 is VERY good in colour too, tho' does have whites and grays that are just a tad blue...

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on July 27, 2011 at 11:10 AM

Great behavior shot. The sharpness on their faces is terrific.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on July 27, 2011 at 12:39 PM

Excellent job of composing and capturing this engaging expression!

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Butch Lama on July 27, 2011 at 2:02 PM

Great interaction... Love the opposite facial expressive captured of the two lions.

Registered on July 23, 2010, 42 Posts, 316 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on July 28, 2011 at 1:02 AM

Grumpy old man! Great capture Ajit, love the interaction, color cast noted.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on July 28, 2011 at 8:19 AM

About the colour cast, yes it does indeed have a magenta cast to it, now that everyone mentions it! I'll try and eliminate it to the best of my ability. And, Brad, yes you are right. On my iPad 2, there is no colour cast!!!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 302 Posts, 2055 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on July 28, 2011 at 2:01 PM

Excellent shot all the way around, nice job in getting this shot, aside from the slight color cast the larger image looks great, well composed and well done.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on August 8, 2011 at 1:50 AM

Wonderful image Ajit, can only hope to have a similar opportunity in a a week or two's time. Thanks for sharing :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments