Lions of Sabi Sands

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Credits: Londolozi

*This image is copyright of its original author

photography has become a huge part of a guide’s job, with just about every guest snapping pictures while on safari. Be it a professional photographer or a nature lover with an iPhone, everyone wants to take some memories home with them, and it’s up to us as guides to assist them in capturing those moments. The photography module has been one of our most interesting and enjoyable ones to date, learning everything from the basics of photography to the intricacies of star trails. This evening we went out, armed with spotlights and cameras, to learn about backlighting when taking pictures at night. We were lucky enough to see the large Nkuhuma pride just after they had brought down an nyala, and spent the next couple of hours fine tuning our camera settings to get the perfect image of a backlit lion. This image was the result of that hard work. Caption by James Steele and photograph by Don Heyneke

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*This image is copyright of its original author

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After sitting silently in the Manyelethi river bed, under the cover of darkness, we heard the monstrous sounds of lions making a kill close by. Wasting no time, we arrived at the surreal scene and watched a pride feed with an air of ruthlessness as each individual fought for their share of the kill. Lions are the only social cats and the dynamic within the pride is usually affectionate and good-natured so to see them act with belligerence toward one another was intriguing. We stayed with the pride for a while, and Don introduced us to the complex yet satisfying art of photographing animals at night with a spot light. It was an educational and thrilling evening. Photograph and caption by Greg Mintur-Brown

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*This image is copyright of its original author

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