Just back from a long and extended trip to TZ & the Seychelles and thought I would squeeze in a themed image before the month has passed.
One of the many highlights of this trip was the 15 strong Gardenia pride taking down a male buffalo, taking just 21 mins to end this boys misery, eventually resulting in the girls flipping the young bull over and drowning him in the water hole behind, but not before suffering injuries to 4 of the pride.
A real privilige to document the battle from start to finish with the best part being (apart from 1 vehicle that stayed just 15 mins) I had the sighting all to myself from start to leaving @ sunset.
@ past 10.00am the light mixed with water resulted in less than favourable shooting conditions, I would have loved to be on the opposite side, but it was just too boggy & wet for any vehicle.
Kogatende region, Northern Serengeti- TZ.
Bean bag, front pax seat, FF, curves, levels, TK adj's, reduced the luminosity in the greens, in ACR & PS CC'18.
Hi Marc,nature in a very raw form,but also at it's best.. Marc the light looks to be incredibly difficult to work with,especially considering the dark buffalo i'll look forwards to viewing the comments here,I can see why you watned to be the other side for this image(setof images/encounter). Marc ext's we put on and hope we made the right choice,here I am wondering whether maybe without the ext might have been better as I sort of want the third lion and a little more space.
It's a seriously evocative frame Marc, quite emotional to view,but really speaks of just how hard the natural world really is and conveys that struggle of life and death. The water droplets add so much,although I find it personally quite hard to look at the buffalo's face I can feel him Marc,twenty mins is a long time being ripped apart and drowned
Marc ext's we put on and hope we made the right choice,here I am wondering whether maybe without the ext might have been better as I sort of want the third lion and a little more space.
Cheers
stu
Many thanks Stu,
A life and death struggle for sure,
but believe me 20 mins is actually quite short when it comes to lions battling buffalo, have seen many going past the hour mark before final submission.
I hear you re. the cutoff lion, and would also have wanted more and indeed I have many more at a wider scene with my 70-200 (for later submissions), but as this was my prime and FF I couldn't do much with her head entering the frame, and leaving her out would have resulted in a cut tail, apart from cloning her out, which I'm always reluctant to do.
A powerful scene very few have the privilege to witness, you are a very lucky man! Great action captured here and super techs too, you did great despite the harsh light.
Colours, sharpness and detail look good. I just feel the frame is slightly unbalanced, wish you had more at the bottom and less at the top of the frame.
Love the expression of the lioness at the edge of the frame and it's such a pity you could not include her. I cannot wait to see your other images from this sighting, I just know you are saving the best for last!
Hi Marc - Welcome back! What a fantastic sighting and especially to have it all to yourself. They really made quick work of him. Was he injured or sick? It's a shame that the best action happened when the light was harsh but you have handled it relatively well. I like the head of the one coming in from the rhs as it gives the impression of there being more members of the pride involved. I too wish the framing was shifted down slightly so a bit more below and less on top.
They really made quick work of him. Was he injured or sick?
He was a young and very fit male, one of only 3 in a small herd, a perfect scenario for lions, however the crucial and deciding factor was the pride's ability to steer him back into the water, being large & bouyant they managed to flip him over and with one female clamping down on the muzzle he simply drowned, it was game over fairly quickly.
Gardenia pride v buffalo
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Originally Posted by Stuart Philpott
