Image of the month February
I took this image while on safari in Kenya, Masai Mara. I remember well, how close we were able to get to the pride of lions and for a while we watched the pure joy of the little cubs and how quirky and lively they are.
I am delighted to share with you a moment behind the scenes of this special photograph in my video clip:
Innocent Pride 1
Story about this photograph:
My dear wife Sandra joined me for a few days on this photo trip in Kenya. It was special as we have two small children that takes all her time, love and attention.
It was her first day out in the wild of Kenya. All she knows is what I told her and now it suddenly became alive and the fascinating places now became a real picture to her imagination. What an honor to share it with her.
It was sunset and there it was, a large pride of lions, slowly waking up from their afternoon nap. A lioness was getting up right next to Sandra’s open car window. Sandra was already amazed by this close encounter when an even more beautiful moment developed.
Among the big cats, still too lazy to move really, three quirky little cubs fiddled about and could no longer wait to play. They teased their mother and each other until the annoyed lioness raised. The cubs, jumping wildly in the low grass and crossed the nearby the stream. That was bad for us and their mother as we had to cross the stream as well to get close to them.
What is an easy jump for the lioness more difficult for us. Driving a detour of about fifteen minutes and valuable time lost. The sun moved lower and lower and nerves were shattered moving impatiently left and right on my seat. Only a couple of minutes left before we have to leave … If too dark it would soon be impossible to capture a perfect image. We arrived on the other side of the location and not believing our eyes …
These three fun-loving cubs still played happily like a group of children strolling in the park. While running away from their older siblings, they got very enthusiastic – trying to climb a nearby tree. The cutest thing to watch as due to their clumsiness they often fell down but then bounced back and tried again! It was hard to decide between full joy of observing or looking through my camera, documenting this unforgettable moment. It was a game of only a few minutes but it felt forever. Only later at camp we realized that this perfect moment was captured forever … it left us thrilled and satisfied.
What a blessed day!
The photograph “Innocent Pride 1” is part of my “Pride of Africa Collection TM” and can be purchased as an original, limited edition fine art print which is personally numbered and signed by myself, Klaus Tiedge, and will be accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity and the Story about the image.