Lions in glorious South Africa light

[Mike Buckley]

All of these photos are of the same pride of lions that we came upon one morning in South Africa's Madikwe Game Reserve.

The second photo was captured by my wife and post-processed by me. (I also captured the same scene but she got the winning shot.)


Photo #1



Photo #2



Keep in mind that this was my first series of game drives. Everyone in our truck was in complete awe of what we were experiencing, not speaking a single word. After awhile my friend, who lives in South Africa, is an avid photographer and has been regularly doing game drives since she was a child, broke the silence to whisper to all of us in the truck about the scenes pictured below: "I have never seen lions in light like this. Never."

Photo #3



Photo #4



Photo #5



Photo #6

[Brownbear]

All glorious... 3-6 are to die for... especially 3 and 4 my favourites of all these safari images to date.

[ShaneS]

All nice shots Mike and I can't believe all that you got to see and experience in one trip. Something that you will always remember, I'm sure, and I feel fortunate to be able to live vicariously through your images

I really like the first shot but the fourth comes a close second for me.

[NorthernFocus]

Awesome stuff. I like the pano crop on the first one and your wife did well on the action shot. Great memories to relive every time you look at these. Nice job.

[Shadowman]

Very nice.

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you, everyone!

I just now remembered that I forgot to include a photo of a lion that we saw in a different place, Addo Elephant National Park. When Graham was there a long time ago, there were no lions in the park. They were reintroduced in 2003 and I promised him that I would post a photo of one. Even though this lion was completely out in the open, it was so well disguised in its environment that my wife and I are certain that we wouldn't have seen it on our own; even when we were told by a fellow tourist where to look, we still had difficulty spotting it. It was late in the day and the lion was keeping its eye on this herd of Cape buffalo.


Photo #7

[GrahamS]

She looks very fat and healthy, a beautiful beast! Nature's camo is amazing! Thank's Mike.

[Mike Buckley]

She looks very fat and healthy, a beautiful beast!

My wife and I often discussed while on safari that all but a very few animals appeared to be very healthy from a layperson's point of view. We feel the same now that we have reviewed our photos.

[GrahamS]

My wife and I often discussed while on safari that all but a very few animals appeared to be very healthy from a layperson's point of view. We feel the same now that we have reviewed our photos.

They can look very different after a long drought..

[fotugraphy]

Gorgious animal and images. Never tried wild life photography. Can u please share which lens used for it. Thanks

[Mike Buckley]

The first three photos were taken using a Nikon 300mm f/4 lens that was being manufactured from 1987 to 2000. The last photo was taken using a Nikon 180mm f/2.8 lens that was being manufactured only from 1986 to 1987. Though both lenses auto focus so long as they are mounted on a camera that has a screw drive, neither lens has vibration reduction or a motor.

EDIT: See the correction in my next post.

[Mike Buckley]

Sorry about my mistake about the lenses. I forgot which thread we were in and I responded as if we were in a different thread. The two lenses that I mentioned were used for all of my photos of lions.

[fotugraphy]

The first three photos were taken using a Nikon 300mm f/4 lens that was being manufactured from 1987 to 2000. The last photo was taken using a Nikon 180mm f/2.8 that was being manufactured only from 1986 to 1987. Though both lenses auto focus so long as they are mounted on a camera that has a screw drive, neither lens has vibration reduction or a motor.

Wow means u were close to the lion for the last shot m new to it not sure how new gen lens are good compared with the old gen. Can u pls provide on the info I why u decided not to use new gen lens compared to the one u mentioned.

[Mike Buckley]

Contrary to the information in my first post about the lenses which has now been corrected in a subsequent post, I used the 300mm lens on the last shot, not the 180mm lens. Sorry about the confusion!

I bought older-generation lenses primarily because I felt that they would meet my needs as well as the new generation lenses at one-half to one-fourth the cost.

[John 2]

That's a remarkable set of images Mike. What a holiday that must have been. Hard to choose between them but no. 3 by a whisker perhaps. Gorgeous.

[davidedric]

Hi Mike,

Yes fabulous light, and good photography. I have been on many game drives, and I don't think I have seen lions in light like that, and especially being able to take them on a level and even from below. Very envious.

The last one is much more typical. It shows the camouflage, and also how hard it can be to get images that separate the animal from the environment.

I think I will wait a while before posting any of my lion pictures - let the memories fade a bit

Dave

[Mike Buckley]

By a "whisker," John? Shame on you. Seriously, thanks for the compliment.

Thank you to Dave also! I look forward to any photos from your game drives. I'm envious that you have been on so many.

Considering that you folks are enjoying photos of lions, I just today posted four photos of male lions that you might want to review.

[Brownbear]

The new addition is very beautiful, and I forgot to say that I adore the first image, too.... I think my favourite is #3 not only for the light but because it seems like one is just a foot away and right in front of the lion.

[jprzybyla]

Wonderful... just wonderful.

[Tom Barry]

These are as good as safari photography gets!