White Lions of the Timbavati

[Chad Cocking]

The white lions of the timbavati are what made this private reserve in South Africa world famous in the 1970's. Since the early 1990s though, there have been no white lions born naturally into the reserve that have survived beyond the first few vital months...that wasuntil two were born into the Timbavati Pride in June 2009.

I am fortunate enough to work in the reserve and see these special, and 100 percent naturally occuring, white lions every so often. it was always my dream to capture the ultimate shot of a white and normal tawny lion together, and always thought drinking would be amazing.

one evening the pride moved towards a waterhole after eating a giraffe, but stopped just short when we were watching them. while we had planned to arrive maximise our chances of seeing them active they slept. 24 hours later, they were still sleeping in the same spot! we had a second chance, and this time we got it spot on! as we were approaching them, we found a clan of hyenas at the nearby waterhole and spent time watching the hyenas. not 10 minutes later the first of 2 white lions arrived at the same waterhole to drink and her tawny cousin decided to come and drink next to her....it was a dream come true and i clicked away like a little child with the hugest smile on my face. the second i took this shot i knew it was a winner :)

almost no processing was done besides standard RAW processing of contrast and picture style selection.

Canon 1DmkIII
Canon 500 f4
1/250
f6.3
ISO 400

[D. Robert Franz]

A wonderful moment and a great capture.. You should be proud!

[Robert Amoruso]

Getting the two side by side drinking is great. Juxtaposition of them both, in such and interesting behavior really makes this image. Well done.

[lee bothma]

You know what I think of this shot bud!! world class:)

[Rachel Hollander]

Chad - Beautiful image. Congratulations on realizing one of your dream photos. Everything works here. I can see why you were so excited. I was at King's Camp in the Timbavati in August 2009 but sadly the white cubs had not yet been seen. Glad to hear they are still doing well.

TFS,
Rachel

[Morkel Erasmus]

Chad - I agree with Lee...you know I absolutely love this but on the other side I hate seeing it every time since my name isn't on the bottom right corner



I know you've probably entered this where it counts, holding thumbs for you mate!

[Chad Cocking]

thanks guys!

@morkel....ummmm, no, i didnt enter it where it counts - will wait for next year....will send it in for the fujifilms though :)

[Dumay de Boulle]

So good to see this image here bud...Its top class work and so nice to see it large...Great to see you on this forum as well

[Pieter de Waal]

Excellent capture Chad, unique and love the eye contact.

[Steve Kaluski]

Welcome aboard Chad.

A good image, especially having the two opposites together. Like the low POV and the gaze into camera. I do find the LH lioness a tad saturated and that might be down to the 'picture style' if this is a preset on the camera as the tongue looks very red. If you had also added sharpness on the setting I personally might also ease off a fraction.

TFS
Steve

[Chad Cocking]

thanks for all of the comments and welcomes :)

morkel, nope, didnt get around to entering this into the Veolias...will try for the fujifilms though...also got to give it a break from competitions for a while; think people are getting a bit tired of it winning

thanks steve...yip, the 'portrait' PS does enhance the reds slightly, but the gums of the white lions are quite red/pink in reality - i used a standard amount of saturation (+3 on DPP) but will double check the original and see what it looks like....as for sharpening, might be from the resizing, but i again use only standard amounts of sharpening (+5 on DPP) on the RAW file...i assume you are referring to the whiskers (and i also see the sharpening artefacts in the ear hair)? i find that my whiskers always looked oversharpened when i resize images for some reason??? i dont place much value in resized images, but the full frame image is pin-sharp without needing any sharpening...but thanks for point that out, appreciate the advice :)

[Hilary Hann]

Just wanted to say that this is one very special image, well done.

[Grant Atkinson]

Hi Chad, stunning shot, well done on all counts, and thanks for the story behind the lions too. Much appreciated.
Well done
Grant

[Vivaldo Damilano]

Hey bud, best image of lions I have seen. I would definitely enter it in the Fujifilms. Good to see you posting here. Congrates on a stunner !!

[Marc Mol]

Excellent image Chad, a winner for sure.
Only thing to add is the exposure is spot on for the whites, not easy in this situation.
TFS

[Tom Graham]

Agree with all the above
Been about 2 years since I've been in the Timbavati, Kings Camp my fav. If you ever see Warren, Patrick or Morne from there, tell'em I'll be back in 2012
Tom
ps - the area between the two heads perhaps looks a bit dark? I'd be tempted to "open" it up to see a hint of ground. Maybe not, maybe it emphasises the contrast between the two?

[Andrew Aveley]

Welcome Mots !! Glad to see you here! great wildlife moment:eek: