6.03 am and the Mbagi pride male known as "Mr T" on dawn patrol, little did I know that this bad boy was to single handedly bring down a 10+ year old female elephant later in the afternoon. And from what we believe a feat never documented by anyone.
Knowing his prior reputation I opted to stay with wildlife cinematrographer Owen Prümm and we waited with Mr T for the majority of the day. He was on his own and far off road (both having an off-road permit), we then received a radio call of another interesting sighting that looked liked developing,
so we left and to cut the story short, we missed Mr T in action! Owen was literally in tears of frustration as this would have been an extrememly valuable piece of footage.
Yes, we broke the golden rule of never leaving a sighting for the possibility of another.
We arrived back to hear and find a very distressed and trumpeting small ele herd that had lost a family member, we had missed the take down by no less than 10 mins with Mr T standing over the body, clearing evident on the ele were rear and back claw marks and also the bite/suffocation marks on the female's trunk,
a sad sight indeed but one that would have been a once in a lifetime experience to witness.
Just to prove to us his character, Mr T whilst lying exhausted & panting, immediately jumped up and proceeded to then attempt to bring down an Impala that wandered close, this was just too much, WOW this guy had some ba**s!!
Bean bag, front pax seat, FF, curves, levels, TK adj's in ACR & PS CC 18. In hindsight I would have preferred some separation between the palm and baobab.
Ruaha NP - TZ
Nikon D810
Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 G2
1/200s (yes....pushing it a bit, I know)
f/4
ISO2500@ 66mm.
I head off tomorrow for 3 weeks to the Central Serengeti for Gnu calving, so keep up the good work and catch you on my return.
Beautiful setting here with amazing light and composition. Sorry to hear you missed the action but am sure you have shots of Mr T with the elephant. Look forward to that. Hope you have a great time in Serengeti.
Hi Marc - It's the colors of the sky that make the image. I really like the physical placement of the lion in frame but wonder if you have any images shot a little earlier where he separated from the tree,s meaning he was to the left of the frame and the trees are to the right. Sorry you missed the action of lion vs. ele. Have a great trip.
I am really taken with Mr. T after reading your story! Lovely lionscape too, is this Ruaha? Beautiful scenery and sky!
Yes, you pushed a bit LOL, but as you yourself said, never let an opportunity go by, and I truly feel for you and Owen having missed the action. I hope you enjoy the Serengeti and see as well as capture lots of amazing action there, don't forget to take that D850 along
Have a safe trip, looking forward to your images when you return,
Hi Marc -- Mr T is some Lion , would have been some unforgettable stuff to witness the kill but it will happen someday for you and Owen. Loved the scene , especially the light . Nicely composed as well. I might try to lay with clarity or contrast slider for a bit more punch to the image . Nicely done.
All the very best for the Serengeti trip , have a safe journey.
Beautiful image, I don't know if you had the opportunity to var shutter speed? The image background looks pretty sharp but there is a little lack of sharpness in the lion. Just wondered if you took some slower or faster?
Another beauty, Marc. That 'The light maketh a good photo' is shown so well in this. Of course, the composition, setting, pose with raised paw are all critical and clearly the subject of careful thought and execution. Always a pleasure to look at your work.
"Mr T" on dawn patrol.
And from what we believe a feat never documented by anyone.
Reply With Quote
