King of the Kalahari

[Mark Wiseman]

This is an image of "Aubrey", the largest lion I have seen in 19 years in the Kalahari. This image was taken south of Cheleka and I tried to show in this image what a truly impressive male lion he actually is. I like the dust coming up from the dry river bed, the front, fore paw in the air and the intense stare that he shows on his face. This lion was in the process of developing a charge. Cheleka, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. It was extremely difficult with the back lighting but I think the image turned out quite well. Any comments and advice welcome.

Camera details:
Canon EOS 1Ds MkIII
EF 500mm f4 LUIS lens
EF 2x converter II
f8
1/250sec
ISO 400
Exposure: +1.3

[Harshad Barve]

Fantastic image for sure , love the stride
TFS

[Steve Kaluski]

Pano crop works well Mark, the stance, raised paw, intense look and dust trail all add to the image, with good detail where it counts. Muted colour also add to the scene.

Appreciate if you can add the tech details to the shot.

TFS
Steve

[Mark Wiseman]

Sorry for adding the tech details late, I forgot! Something to do with my brain.

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks Mark.

Something to do with my brain.

Guess you and I are in the same boat on that one.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Love the backlight on this one Mark...and he sure is a magnificent specimen! Hope to see him on our November trip...
Pano crop works well as does the colour of the BG bushes. Good IQ for a 500/2x combo!

[Marc Mol]

Agree with Morkel, great quality with the tc here Mark, love the stance, dust and overall lighting & colour.
One very fine male, have never been to KTP, but do know that in the CKGR they are truly impressive as well!
TFS

[Dumay de Boulle]

Great back lighting and the dust is a bonus...Nice comp and a very nice overall image!

[arash_hazeghi]

awesome

[Craig Kerr]

Just love this big boy... Like your composition and effect created by the dust cloud... Nice one

[Chris Baker]

Echo all the above, wonderful specimen, great shot. TFS

[Pieter de Waal]

Excellent image and specimen Mark. Great IQ considering the strong backlight.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Mark, well exposed for looking into the light, and you have certainly captured a great pose here. The dust and the raised paw adds a lot to the image, and overall, the lion is separated from the BG nicely. A place I havent been to yet.

[DanWalters]

Love the rim light and the dust underneath the lion. Very nice.

[Dudley Watson]

Great back lighting,pose and detail . Looks like he just came from a session at the hairdressers. Excellent image Mark