We are happy to release this 2019 image of the most famous lion in Kevin Richardson’s sanctuary – Vayetse.

I hope it will strike an emotional chord with all lovers of the lion and remind us that the eyes are the windows to the soul – whether they be the eyes of a human or the eyes of a cat. Of all the truly iconic animals that we cohabit our wonderful planet with, the African lion is the one that many informed people are most worried about in terms of survival. Numbers are now less than perhaps 16,000 – just 5% of 100 years ago.

To be so very close to this majestic lion was a privilege, but it was hard earned. Kevin and I have worked with each other for six years and there is great mutual trust. His team worked on the cage placement deep in a flooded gorge during the heat of the day and I then had the easy task of just getting wet from 4pm onwards. I knew that I wanted a contextual backdrop and I also knew that I needed to work with consistently flat light on Vayetse’s face. The key was to convey a sense of place, but also take a portait with an intoxicating level of facial detail.

The busy river background is not maybe my normal style, but in this case it helped – after all, I am in his “Kingdom”, not a studio. As always, my starting premise was that I needed to be lower than his line of sight – this meant being in four feet of water. The Nikkor 58mm lens is optically in a league of its own for this kind of work and I think it shows here.

I hope that this photograph will find good homes and in so doing raise awareness and also funds for Kevin’s relentless crusade to fight for the survival of the Kings of Africa. I had the easy job, albeit the wet one. Kevin’s job goes on day after day, whereas I just come and go.

South Africa, 2019

In the Lion King remake, Nala has had a modern overhaul. To quote The London Times, she has been transformed from a “long lashed love interest into an asskicking warrior femme.” Beyonce clearly enjoyed playing the role and nailed it.

In my experiences in Africa, that’s what lionesses are – they kick arse. Here is our Nala – not much “long lashed” romance here – just a warrior. My heart beats fast when a lioness is present – they are magnificent, but dangerous cats.

Our thanks – as always – to Kevin Richardson for the access and his knowledge. Photographs like this would not be possible without his presence, his guidance and our long established partnership.

Savute, Botswana 2019

The Marsh Pride of Savute, Botswana are famous and revered hunters. The difficulty with lion photography in places such as Savute is simply the ability to work the camera into a position below the lion’s eye level.

With longer lenses and greater magnification, the nasty effect of cameras angled downwards can be ameliorated. But we don’t like long lenses and if we can avoid them, we do. It tends not to offer the degree of emotion we are looking for.

This artwork combines two photographs – one taken in Borana, Kenya from above Pride Rock and the other taken 4000 km south at Kevin Richardson’s famous lion sanctuary where we created a massive replica of Pride Rock. It was a joint idea between my team and Kevin’s and fundraising for Kevin’s crusade was integral to the project. No better year to do this than in 2019 – the year Disney rereleased Lion King. We hope to raise a meaningful amount from this image for Kevin’s continual task of building awareness for the plight of the lion. The lion has no better friend in Africa.

Pride Rock is the spiritual home of the movie and I wanted to work around this physical location in much the same way as Disney. The backdrop, 1,000 feet below, is quintessential East Africa, but the problem is that lion rarely venture onto the rock. That part of the job had to be done in South Africa. The angles and the light had to blend perfectly in order for the composite to work and we spent many hours planning at both locations.

The biggest challenge was not the light – both images were taken with the camera pointing in the same direction about 45 minutes after sunrise. We knew if we gave it a few days we would get similar clear sunrises in both locations. A tougher issue was to have the same trajectory in both locations and we ended up hiring a cherry picker in South Africa to ensure my angles on to the rock were identical at both locations.

The final piece of the jigsaw was the position and posture of the lion. Only Kevin could do this and he is a true genius.

This is one of the most important and challenging projects of my career – it is creative and I hope we can break a few fundraising records. It really went far better than any of us hoped.

South Africa – 2020

Vayetse is probably the most handsome of Kevin Richardson’s lions and certainly the most famous. This image, taken in a flooded grassland after summer rains, is the strongest I have taken of him for a few years.

The key was to be low to the lion, close to the lion and yet safe. This mandate would not therefore have been for everyone. Lying in water a foot deep inside a metal cage in an African swamp is not for the precious, but it was my only option. My legs itched for days after, but I guess that was a small price to pay for this image.

It is important in these types of portraits for the eye contact of the lion to be emphatic. If the lion is not looking at me, the power of the image is materially reduced. It will be his eyes that tell us that Vayetse is focused, alert and on the hunt. That “Basic Instinct” was the narrative I was looking for and it is not always easy with a lion. I am reminded that the eye is the window to the soul.

Working with a wide-angle lens from a cage in a river in lion territory is an abnormal way to spend the day, and a very low percentage way to take a photograph of note. Lions do jump, but it is not common and even when they do, there is little chance of a camera catching the leap well.

A retrospective of my files would suggest that in 10 years I have only had two successful days. This January I had my second moment that transcended. Nikon has made my life easier over those years with the super-fast D5 camera, but most of all, I want to thank Kevin Richardson – without whom this type of image could not even be considered.
I want the lion to look magnificent – why otherwise take on the brief? So many things have to combine for the cigar shot, but I think with this spectacular frame we can allow ourselves the cigar.

Kevin’s sanctuary in South Africa has given me many moments over the years and as our trust of each other has grown, so have the opportunities. There is no doubt that my work has improved. I am proud to be an Ambassador for his foundation.

South Africa, 2020

There is a transcending level of power and vitality to this image of an adult lioness. Her intent and the precision of that intent makes the photograph. They are magnificent cats and, when they need to be, they are also killing machines.

It was taken with my favourite 58mm lens, which offers extraordinary detail if the focus is right and the ISO is low. As with other images in this series, our approach was to work inside a cage so heavy that the lioness could not topple or destabilise it.

Looking at the camera metadata, this was captured around 6.45 am which, given the amount of preparation involved, hints at just how early our starts are in Africa.

Archival Pigment Print

South Africa, 2020

This is unquestionably the meanest, toughest wild lion that I know in the world. There is a heavy-duty security fence between us that has a section designed so I can take this exact kind of portrait. The section had a rectangular box cut at lion eye level that was large enough for my camera to breathe, but too small for Gandalf the lion’s head. He still tried a couple of times to enter my space and my heart did skip a beat. Make no mistake, this is a massive and dangerous animal and these are close encounters.

The photograph is made with 7.30am backlight, using material depth of field and a lack of magnification. In all three variables, I have tweaked my preferences over the years and by learning how to get it hopelessly wrong, I now get it just about right. His whole face, from the outer chin to inner eyes, has to be pin sharp, which is a challenge. My photography is rarely led by maths, but on this occasion, maths was pivotal.

I am happy with the construction of this image – I think it grabs and then holds the eye. The tail, the primal rawness and the scars.

If Al Pacino was Scarface, so also is Gandalf.

Dinokeng, South Africa – 2020

This is as close as I want to get to this lion. Even though I am protected because the man made hole that I am shooting through is the size of a camera lens not his head, the 3 feet between me and him is as close as my heart will allow for. This picture was only possible with my partner Kevin Richardson – his understanding of lion behavior is second to none and most of all we trust each other.

Much of my approach here is down to simple mathematics and understanding of lenses and depths of field. The fast Nikon 85mm has fabulous optical quality – it is the best portrait lens that I have ever owned – so that was my choice.