mom and cub

[Tom Graham]

This taken at camp Nsefu, Zambia, in Sep of 2005. My very first safari game drive and one of the best ever for lion cub. He was the only cub in small pride, about 6 weeks old, spots still there. Very late in the afternoon, sun very low. The only shot in this pose, wish I had one of them looking at camera. But this works for me.
Original image format is 4x3, this cropped left and mostly on right to make it into portrait format. Minor cloning on BG to make it uniform. PP - mild S curve, warmed up, sharpened more than usual.
Camera - Canon S2 P&S, f4, 1/60, ISO ? Wish I could re-live it using my Nikon DSLR :)
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http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/fc2120012cdb56b93ea136c56a91c8ca6g.jpg
Tom

[Todd Frost]

I like the comp and pose in this tender moment. Looks a bit soft to me, maybe some selective sharpening. Is the red/magenta coloration on the neck/chest area caused by blood stain from a kill? TFS
Todd

[Alfred Forns]

Like the post for both The slow shutter speed probably did not help with sharpness, cranking up the USM will not help much ! .... maybe you will have another chance with your DSLR .. can only hope !!!

[Tom Graham]

Thanks guys. I have not pushed sharpening, I suspect like Alfred that the original basically does not have it. Not sure about the red/magenta chest, think it's "real" because the brown looks fine. There was no kill around that we saw. We saw cub again the next day but I very much doubt if it survived, the guides said its mom was very careless about taking close care of it. I've shots of other cubs, other places, times, but this and another there remain my favorite.
Tom

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Tom I assumed the color was there and not a cast? Maybe her last meal? They normally clean up well so not sure what is going on !! Shame about the little guy !!!

[Tom Graham]

I have one more of the mom and cub that I'll put up. Totally different pose, It also shows the redness. Not sure if has do with kill blood or not. There usual kill is little Puku antelope so they might kill and eat every night. Which could explain her lack of keeping tidyness. After all, lions have to get their sleep, all day!!! Here is a little snap of such Puku kill. You think this is gruesome, you should see the video, the Puku is still alive!!
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http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/15ce729cb188a04f6135fe933ae6cfe36g.jpg
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Tom

[Stu Bowie]

Tom, I like the how the cub is lying across mom's legs. I dont see much of a colour cast, so I suspect the red on mom's chest is from a kill.

[Egil Droge]

Hi Tom,

Do you have more shots like the first one? Possibly slightly different angles with the whiskerspots showing?
I have a few males in our database which are suspected to be born in 2005 but we don't have shots from before 2007 (yet!).
Also an additional shot of the female would be of great help. She already looks quite old in your picture (over 6 years) but in the current Nsefu pride are 3 fairly old lionesses, one of them really old.
The pride was doing well late last year, with 7 females, a subadult male and 6 cubs born in 2009 (5 still alive in november) and at least one more pregnant female in november.
I'll send you a private message about the best way to send additional pictures.

Egil (senior ecologist Zambian Carnivore Programme)

[DanWalters]

Great pose and eye contact. Could use just a little rotation as well.

[Tom Graham]

Egil - I do have many photos from that afternoon Sep 2005. Also some from Sep 2006 when there were 3-4-5(?) cubs all about 3 months old. In 2006 saw pride and cubs all go out and hunt at night, and in fact that Puku snap above is from 2006. I'll dig all out, give me a few days, I got you PM and other email address. My email is tdgraham aat sbcglobal dott net, should I forget, please remind me.

Interesting that the area is known for leopards but in our two times there for several days saw only one leopard at night and briefly. That area of Zambia is like no other I've seen in other countries on safari. Such a primitive look and feel to it, like stepping back in time millions of years. We have not been back since 2006, the safari camp prices there became less attractive, but, I have not indeed checked for about three years now.
Tom

[Steve Canuel]

Like the pose and interaction you captured.

[Egil Droge]

Thanks Tom that would be great!
The area is known for leopards indeed, you must have been unlucky. I know all camps in the area (Tena Tena, Nsefu and Tafika) have good leopard sightings (so do the camps across the river, Kaingo, which actually means leopard, and Lion Camp). Some numbers who spring to mind: 6 different leopards on 5 sightings in 1 drive, all in daylight from Nsefu. 27 leopard sightings (probably 9 - 10 different ones) in 3 days from Tafika.
But price wise...all quite expensive indeed.
I'm looking forward to your email(s)!