During most summers, the Serengeti in Tanzania is defined by the traffic and some of the serenity of these endless plains can be lost. It is considered the crown jewel of the East African game reserves and – in my view – deservedly so. But that status comes with a price – tourists and jeeps – hundreds of them.

But not so during the Covid 19 pandemic of 2020. We took one of the first international flights in and unsurprisingly found virtually no one to be here. The swab testing logistics may be a little tiresome, but the light footprint is offering unprecedented opportunities to work alone in the field. In the vastness of the Eastern Serengeti, there are currently few humans and a huge number of lions. For those that are here, conditions for film making are perfect.

We sat with this stunning big male lion on the Utafiti kopjes from sunrise one morning. No other jeeps were anywhere in the region and so when he moved, we could adapt quickly without being inconsiderate to the line of sight of others. At about 7.45 am he saw a potential prey and with his eyes full of intent, he set off from the rocks above us. I had my chance, when he was still higher than my camera.

The angle and the line of the rock face work for me, but the real bonus is his rockstar aesthetics. He would not look out of place headlining at Glastonbury with The Cure. It’s an apposite name for 2020.

Serengeti, Tanzania – 2020

My favourite quote on photography is so simple. It comes from the mind of a greatly respected Nat Geo cameraman, Jim Richardson. He said “If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff ”.

It seems so banal, but it is also “bang on”. The lens may look both ways and the photographer’s soul, ability and experience plays a big role, but let’s face it, the lens looks outward more than it looks inward. Not even Ansel Adams could have taken a new picture of the Eiffel Tower that the world needed to see.

I take no credit for this image. It may be quite extraordinary and may never be seen again, but all I had to do was point my camera lens at the subject. So who is to credit?

I would give credit to my intelligent guide in the eastern Serengeti – Leverd Mgomwende and also the conservation NGOs in Tanzania and beyond who are helping the lion survive. Lions are under huge pressure and this is an uplifting photograph. Most of all though, I dedicate it to my long term friend – South Africa’s Kevin Richardson. He is the lion’s champion in Africa and that is quite a responsibility.

I see 20 lion at the bar. That’s just nuts.

Serengeti, Tanzania – 2020

A constant challenge in my work is how to capture the soul of a subject whilst conveying a sense of place. It is a complex alchemy and one that is easier to address with the war wounds of failure. I am not the first person to wrestle with this – it is integral to filmmaking and still photography. In fact, it is perhaps the biggest skill of all. For masters of film, such as Steven Spielberg, Ridley
Scott and, of course, Martin Scorsese, their innate ability to do this was transcendental.

This is such a simple picture and it was not hard to take once the subject matter was in place. I wanted the whole image to smell of the Serengeti without marginalising the star of the show. The ratio seems about right and there was enough wind to add just a little extra layer to the narrative.