The Future King

[Morkel Erasmus]

Harshad keeps posting tigers, so I figured it's about time someone brought a lion to the table ;)

This was taken on a recent day trip into the Kruger National Park (we were in the vicinity for a wedding and quickly 'stole' a night in the park). The next morning me and my wife had to decide whether we would go to the nearby bird hide or take a drive around. We opted for the latter, and soon we spotted this young male and his mother coming up the road towards us. We spent about 15 minutes driving next to them as they walked right next to my window, before disappearing into the dense bush. This was in the first light of the morning.

My own crit here is the tar road which is visible bottom right. This was right next to my car so wider comp wasn't possible - full frame @ 160mm! I'll be back in Kruger at the end of the month for a decent 5-day stint, hopefully I'll get a chance at more lion shots since they have been avoiding me of late.

Please let me know what you think! All crits and suggestions welcome...

Techs:
Canon 1000D with 100-400 L IS USM @ 160mm
f7.1 @ 1/125 SS @ ISO 800

[Kiran Khanzode]

Tiger is bigger than a lion...booo ! Jusssss kidding !

Extreme sharpness, lovely detail and great pose, a thoughtful mood, the road doesn't bother me, my eyes stay on the intense eyes. I like how there are no jaggies in the whiskers... I like the head shot, lovely exposure , Morkel.


Kiran

[Harshad Barve]

I was awaiting something like this from you Morkel
What a stunner this is.
I will have to shoot Lions now that is for sure.
Thanks for sharing such a beautiful image, for me no problems in this image

Harshad

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks Kiran, Harshad & Peter.

Peter - I framed him this way to minimize the amount of road that will be included. In hindsight I could have zoomed out slightly and got more of his body in on the right to give his eyes more space to look to.

[David Fletcher]

Excellent shot Morkel! Like the crispness and facial expression. Like how both his ears are back faced. Were there others nearby? Agree about the space.

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks Dave - only the mother was nearby, in front of the young male. but she was way too close for my lens :)

[John Hawkins]

Oh! what a shame! They were toooo close. LOL We are all jealous. Excellent shot. I don't mind the road. Perfect face. Thanks for sharing. John

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Lots of good suggestions made already. I think you did well considering the constraints of your shooting conditions. Wish you an awesome 5-dayer.

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks Akos & John!