The Hug

[Morkel Erasmus]

On our trip to the Kalahari in December 2014, my wife and I were fortunate to spend the better part of a day with a "lion creche".
Two sets of cubs of various ages, 7 in total, minded by a single lioness who was obviously the mother of the elder cubs.
Full story here: http://bit.ly/lioncreche

Techs:
Nikon D810
Nikkor 400mm f2.8G VR
f5.6 | 1/800 SS | ISO-560
Muted light as it was around 3pm and a storm was brewing overhead.

[keith mitchell]

Think it adds interest that you have one with it's back to the camera and three with an intense stare,sure is a cute set of cubs you have captured.

Enjoyed reading and seeing the shots of your encounter with these smashing set of cubs Morkel.

Keith.

[haseeb badar]

Hi Morkel -- That appears a real dry situation , VEry cute moment and a nice eye contact , lion cubs are amazingly playful . The butterfly on front of a cubs face is kind of a distraction also i wished the cub behind the hugging cubs had been more visible with both its eye , but i am sure if you had such frame then you would have posted it . Went through the link and the BW version also looks good , infact I would prefer the BW version over this .

TFS !

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Morkel, this is such a wonderful sighting, I would be more than glad to have this in my kitty!! Love the tones and colours here. You have most of them looking towards the cam and that hug all are more than enough to make this image a super one. I know we all love to have everything perfect but animals do not listen nor pose for us. Well done and TFS.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Morkel - Guess what? You once again don't have an embedded color profile. Such a cute sighting and I love the 4 heads looking at you. I think the 3 can on the left can use a tiny bit more sharpening though actually it might be the dof. Those reds of the Kalahari are intense.

TFS,
Rachel

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Morkel

Stunning cuteness factor here!
All of them are in focus, but that ever present Butterflies- would lose the one at the central cub's cheek.
Before I read comments, I felt that that the image scream for a monochrome conversion, Morkel style...

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Morkel, a sweet capture and glad you posted this one, but again, I wish it was to 1200px. Why not batch in PS, so simple and you do it in one go, then you have images at various sizes for all relevant outputs?

Wish the RH rear cub had more of the face visible, moving to the left may have helped and the cubs heads would, I'm sure, still have followed you. Not sure if the butterflies add or distract, but something I've not seen.

TFS
Steve

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Morkel!

How did you manage to line them up like this, LOL? Super cute!

I personally do not mind the butterflies. The light was indeed challenging but you exposed well, at 3 pm in December it is still very hot and nothing you can do about the "melting air".

Love the pose there from the cubs, their "togetherness", the vulnerable look in their eyes. Sharpness is there, well composed, I would love to see the B/W posted here for all to enjoy, if you don't mind - I think it does more justice to this special moment and adds tons of drama:w3

Warmest regards,

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks folks. Just catching up on some BPN admin now.
It has been a very dry 2 years in the Kalahari, but recent rains have changed that.
I will post the monochrome soon! Perhaps it even fits the May theme :5