Digital Photography Magazine

This month, one of my images is featured in Digital Photographer magazine.

'Ridge Pride' is featured across a two-page spread within the magazine's 'Story Behind the Still ' feature.

The Ridge Pride

This image was taken in the Masai Mara, Kenya, as a personal assignment for my book project ‘Eight Feet’.

I wanted a more up close and personal image of wild and dangerous animals, and I’d been photographing the Ridge Pride for years.

At the time this photograph was taken, the pride was very settled, allowing for images of the whole pride together. Over the years, the Ridge pride have been fabulous to watch and photograph.

But when this image was taken, uncertainty was in the air.

I spent more time than usual with the pride as change was coming. One of the males was very poorly and passed away just weeks after this shot.

I wanted one last image of a happy established pride.

Lion takeover

Within weeks a pride takeover had begun. Six males marauded into the pride, chasing off the lone male and taking the lives of all but one of the cubs.

Two years later the pride are only now built back up with new cubs and dominant males.

The pride had chosen this track to take rest. My main consideration was losing my camera, I’d lost one camera to this pride six months before.

The best shot was looking down the track but this pride had more members arriving all the time, they kept outflanking my camera and before I could start shooting I had to bring the camera back to safety before re-deploying it.

My next main consideration was moving my camera to pique their feline curiosity without any one of the pride breaking ranks, thinking my camera would make a good toy!