Thirsty Cuties

[Morkel Erasmus]

We spent a lot of time with these lion cubs in the Kalahari recently - they were 7 in total.
This is just a teaser for the cuteness to follow, I got enough cute images of these guys to make your eyes bleed bubblegum rainbow drops!
This was an awesome morning - first up we were kept awake by a pride of lions drinking and lounging around the waterhole at Urikaruus Wilderness Camp, then driving to the 13th borehole waterhole just 9km north of the camp we found a mating pair who proceeded to love each other properly right next to my window, before the "kindergarten minder" female came running across the riverbed from the opposite side towards the waterhole with the 7 cubs in tow.


Techs:
Nikon D810
Nikkor 400mm f2.8 VR
f8.0 | 1/1000 SS | ISO-500

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Amazing sight to see these Cubs together. I like the drinking behaviour, the snarl one is giving & the eye contact on the left one. Can't wait to see more from this sighting. Cheers.

[Lyle Gruby]

You're right, they are way too cute. Can't wait to see more. Great subjects, great light, IQ and DoF is very good. I'd probably crop in a little tighter to get rid of that darker band of mud at the top of the frame. Curious to see what you thought of the different gear you used.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Morkel - Definite high cuteness factor and I am looking forward of seeing your of these cuties. Love the grimace/snarl. Looks like the light was a bit strong and if it were mine I would apply a lumo mask at about 25% to tame the highlights a bit more. It may be an optical illusion but it looks like the water is slanting from right to left.

TFS,
Rachel

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks folks.
Lyle - tried the crop before posting but it felt too tight at the top for me so I decided to live with it.
Rachel - this was an hour after sunrise, LOL, but that's the Kalahari in summer for you - I am actually okay with the light/look and exposure on the highlights personally (lumo mask already applied 30% )

[Marc Mol]

Love the cutness factor here Morkel, I'm looking forward to how the 400/2.8 fared with the 810, send me PM when you get a chance.

Rachel - this was an hour after sunrise, LOL, but that's the Kalahari in summer for you -

Yep, I know what you mean, the sun sneaks up on you very quickly at this time.

TFS

[Douglas Bolt]

Morkel,

Nice shot. The Kalahari is high on my list. we should have gone there instead of the Tuli Block this fall.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Morkel , very lovely foursome and yes they do look cute as presented , like the one that is calling or making a snarl .
nicely framed and with good color and tone , but i think the contrast is a wee bit heavy .
Show us more ......

TFS Andreas

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Morkel,

sweet little chaps. I stay with sweet I agree with Rachel on the tad harsh with light. Well that is the summer light over there, but would try to tame it a bit more.
When I saw the image was already thinking, can't be that harsh from Morkel

Have a great eve

Ciao
anette

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Morkel!

I did not receive a full report of your trip to the KTP yet, so I am taking notes of all your sightings and locations for our February trip, LOL! I haven't seen cubs for some time, this gives me great hope:)

Glad you enjoyed your trip, lovely capture Morkel! I can imagine what the lighting conditions were at the time, it is never easy in the Kalahari but you handled well that harsh light. Nice colours and tones just like Andreas said, not sure about the contrast issue, I think it's just the scorching KTP Sun and the dark shadows one can never completely remove. I am so looking forward to the rest of the images Morkel, I gather you did not see Rosetta/Safran, but surely you had some awesome sightings!

Happy New Year to you and your dear ones, best wishes for 2015, may it be a successful one!

Warmest regards,