Hi gang.
Continuing on from last time we see our Jackals goading a Cheetah and move on to more wet Lions.
Catching up with the Monico pride was great and the young guys were up to some trouble thanks to the lower temperature and the pride seems to be doing pretty well!
Read on to find out more..
Our Cheetah had had a good feed and luckily too as the troublesome Jackals were calling some unwanted attention to the kill.
Mighty brave or mighty foolish?
No match, one of the other predators a lone Cheetah can easily best.
Waiting patiently for a chance to pick at the scraps.
As often happens, it doesn’t take the Hyenas long to notice the commotion.
Always alert and aware of the danger.
Thankfully our Cheetah had a good feed and it was mostly scraps left. I have often seen kills taken not minutes after the first bite which can cause real problems for the slight cats who refuse to scavenge themselves.
We let our full Cheetah slink away to rest with a full belly and continued on. I was keen to catch up with the local Monico pride and Patrick had a suspicion he knew where they might be.
Not far from where physic guide Patrick thought they may be at this time, we sure enough found them out in the relative open.
As I have mentioned I love working with cats in the rain as their behaviour is much more energetic and lends itself to some fantastic expressions.
Sat here with the trophy of the day, a small Terrapin. These guys are pretty tough and often survive a little playtime with the cats if they keep themselves safe in their shells.
This chap new the drill and our Lion seemed to be losing interest slowly.
HE MADE IT! Lucky chap. The Lion walked off and sat down defeated.
I am really taking to black and white images recently. I always like to try and vary my style. I am known for my dramatic use of colour, but these flat times with the storms often allow a style of shooting to bring out broad details the contrasty shadows of golden hour often obscure.
As well I set the B&W filter to bring out the yellow and orange tones of the Lions against the darker green of the ground, really making the pride pop. I am still finding my feet in the B&W world, but am really enjoying the experimentation.
That look. Lions, like Tigers have a fantastic stare that goes right right through you.
Working with what little light there was and attempting to predict the shakes is key to image like this.
One of the males summons the energy to join the rest of the pride
Play time for the cubs
Dad just wants to rest.
Great to see the cubs this energised and I am really digging the B&W at the moment.
It still amazes me that we can shoot at all in such light these days. I remember when ISO 400 was considered pushing it in the early days of digital and here I am now at 6400. How anyone can really moan about the equipment we have these days (yes you on the forums!) is beyond me. One of the reasons I am in the Nikon camp is that since the D3 they really have been leading the pack with regards to image quality and ergonomics.
Anyway, the light really did then take a nose dive and we made our way to higher ground for a gin and tonic and to see if there was any breaks in the cloud for a sunset shot or two…
Bingo, a lucky break in the cloud interrupted our drinks temporally.
There was a lot of rumbling in the distance, the Mara’s open plains make for great storm watching.
And that was that! A slip n’ slide ride back to camp later and we were showered and ready to wine and dine at the hands of the wonderful camp staff.
Thanks for stopping by folks, if you have been enjoying these posts please drop me a line on Facebook or twitter as I love getting your messages and it spurs me on to do more. Questions on any aspect of the trip welcome too! There is plenty more to come so check back often.
We also have some places February 2015 Big Cat safaris. So if you fancy seeing it all for yourself and improving your own photography CHECK OUT THE DETAILS! We have to release our unsold tents at the end of October so please to register your interest (at no obligation) as soon as possible.
Rich.