Dinokeng, South Africa 2017
Words by Kevin Richardson (“The Lion Whisperer”)
There is no doubt that the lion is one of the most culturally significant animals for humankind and has been depicted throughout the world for millennia.
In Egypt the sphinx has the body of a lion, which was a sacred symbol of the goddess, who safeguarded the pharaohs in the afterlife. Stories and art throughout the Middle East show the lion representing great kings and as their companions. Chinese culture portrays the lion as a creature of great majesty safeguarding humans from ghosts and demons.
Although the lion is mostly represented as a noble, fearless and sometimes ferocious beast, we see depictions of a softer side too. In the story of Androcles and the Lion, Androcles removes a thorn from a lion’s paw, and in return the lion spares his life at the Circus Maximus in front of the Emperor.
There is only one lion that I know to perfectly depict this balance of ferocity and emotion. That lion is Vayetse. His name meaning; ‘and he left’ in Hebrew. Vayetse, now eight and a half years old, lost his brother to a snake bite when he was just over one. He mourned for weeks until we had to intervene and found some lionesses for him to live with. Throughout his life, he has been the perfect balance between being authoritative enough to be respected, but gentle enough to be loved and adored.
There is only one photographer I know who could capture this balance, his name, David Yarrow. David’s images serve as great conversation pieces throughout the world. If you don’t believe that these pictures speak, I challenge you to go and view one up close. But even for this talented Scotsman from Glasgow, this was a big ask.
We discussed what we were trying to achieve and how on earth we were going to achieve it. Ultimately it was decided that an explosive running shot would be best. It would be shot at a low angle with nothing else in the frame to distract our eye. The lion would need to be running at camera and although David is a genius with his remote control work, he decided to operate the camera himself, which naturally added to the complexity of achieving this shot. It took a good two days to come up with this image. I’ve seen almost every picture there is of a lion running but I don’t think there is a picture of this calibre out there.
This photograph immortalizes Vayetse and it symbolizes what a lion is about. The essence of his being is captured by this one frame. One millisecond too early, or too late, and this shot would not have worked. An image of explosive power and focus is extremely difficult to achieve but we weren’t trying to get a nice safe picture of a lion. We were aiming for gold and that’s what we got.

I think that this big image was well earned. Gary Player’s adage that ‘the harder I practice, the luckier I seem to get’ carries a great deal of resonance every time I look at this photograph. How appropriate it was therefore that I took this image just 32 hours after celebrating Gary’s 80th birthday in Sun City, South Africa. We have become good friends over the years and I am full of admiration for his passion and commitment to the pursuit of excellence. In my lower profile world, this image of an adult male lion is as good as I can do, but by practicing and getting in wrong, I found the way to finally get it right. It is a lucky shot, but maybe I earned it. For one thing, I have never returned from a shoot dirtier or smellier in my life.

The African lion population may have fallen by 90 % over the last 100 years but there are still enough of them around in Botswana and South Africa in particular, for their behaviour to be well documented by photographers. It is not like capturing imagery of a snow leopard – seek and you will find. However, an encounter with a lion where the human party is sitting 80 yards away in a jeep is hardly groundbreaking work. Telephoto images of this encounter tend to be sterile, generic and fairly dull. There is no sense of the animal’s soul because everything is too distant – no one takes a portrait of a beautiful woman from a jeep 80 yards away and why should that therefore work with a wild animal? Proximity and no magnification contribute character and power to any portrait.

As Ansel Adams taught us, ‘the lens looks both ways’ and he understood that a standard or marginally wide angle lens offered the best conduit for offering some degree of spiritual immersion. The 35m lens is indeed by far my favourite portrait lens, but very few photographers even consider using this in wildlife portraiture – it is totally counter intuitive – especially with predators such as big cats. It is good to break rules and approach one’s work at 180 degrees to what is considered the norm – what is the point of being part of the crowd?

My approach – as many know – leans on the use of desk research, analysis, field support from the very best and then the employment of remote controls. On location I will often stand in a cage and leave the camera some 50 yards from me, to do the work. It is the opposite of a zoo – the lion is in the wild and I am in the cage. Many that know me might joke that it is not before time that I am caged, but this is not normal photography. However, it is my way and over the years, I have refined it again and again. Nevertheless the success rate is very low – it is not a job for those that require a diet of immediate and relentless gratification. If it were that easy there would be a few other images like ‘Gold’ knocking around.

Kevin Richardson is an icon in South Africa – much like Gary Player, albeit not in sport but conservation – like indeed Gary’s late brother Ian. The rhinoceros was Ian Player’s field of practice, whilst Kevin is the Lion Whisperer. I have worked with Kev for sometime now and we have built up a great mutual respect and friendship. To watch him work with lions in the same way that George Adamson did in Karo, Kenya all those years ago is quite astonishing. His talent is unique and quite remarkable. Kev works with very few photographers and I hope that continues to be the case – his huge fan club across the world suggest that there are no awareness issues here. Lions are dangerous to all but him and I have always worked rigidly within what he regards as safe – he has a responsibility and so indeed do I.

We work together now on a number of conservation fronts, but the most immediate goal is to put pressure on the legality of the practice of canned hunting of lions in South Africa. This medieval and dark practice is protected by the wealth of some South Africans who will fight to protect their profitable trade with trophy hunters. But in time, it will be banned and I am sure Kevin will be instrumental in this progression. Our legacy of our time on this planet does not currently look that great, but this would constitute a small victory.

‘Gold’ was my last picture of 2015 and perhaps it is also the most impactful I have taken in the year. The focus around the lion’s eyes is pin sharp and that lends huge power to the image. Without that precision, it would not be the big picture that people assure me that it most certainly is. Certainly no picture that I have taken has ever had such an immediate impact on social media.

It is integral to my approach to photography to see focus as the variable that can never be compromised. This probably hints at my beginnings as a sports photographer. The shorter the distance between subject and camera, the more skill and precision is required. Think of cows close to a train window as against cows in the distance.

There is no room for error at all in the taking of the image – especially when using a lens like a 20mm – if the focus is an inch behind or ahead of the subject’s eye, the image will lose its “wow factor”. I won’t print it. Even with a reasonable motor drive, this is a low percentage approach.

I miss most often by being early but also sometimes by being marginally late. However, when it works, the results can be sensational. This image of Emma – a lioness within Kevin Richardson’s sanctuary – speaks for itself. I don’t need to comment on the detail in her face – it’s there for all to see.

There is more information in this portrait then any other lioness shot I have taken in my life. It is as simple as that. I think the big print is about life size and it is immensely powerful. What a magnificent cat and not a bad image as well.

But this photograph, taken in August 2020, is validation for continuing to try and reward for never quitting on an idea. Build it and they will come.