WARNING ! - do NOT proceed further if you can't stand the sight of blood.
The Lions of the Masai Mara are definitely the top of the food chain. In this safari alone , I witnessed 2 sessions of lions feeding on their kills and 1 successful hunting session and that is all on top of the many lion sightings on an almost daily basis.
From the way the lions feed and hunt , it is pretty clear why they are at the apex , they way they cooperate and socialise in their prides are pretty incredible.
All images captured with the following setup
- Nikon D850 set for 9FPS (1.4kg)
- Nikkor 180-400 f4.0E with integrated 1.4x TC FL ED VR lens (3.5kg)
- JPEG FINE *
- Hand-Held
- AF-C
- Group or D9 AF Area Mode
- Back-Button focusing
- AF Tracking level sensitivity at Level 2
Just to sum it up , this combo to me is a "killer" for safari photography, it offers :
- great flexibility in focal length
- super fast AF
- extremely accurate AF
- razor sharp images with superb color rendition
Nikon D850 Nikkor 180-400mm f4.0 ISO1600 f5.6 1/1600s Hand-Held
Above image shows the lioness basically choking the waterbuck after a very successful hunt which was over in less than 60 secs when the chase began.
Nikon D850 Nikkor 180-400mm f4.0 ISO1600 f5.6 1/1600s Hand-Held
Above series of images , show the lions starting to work on their prey by first removing hair/fur from the fallen prey. The scenes that you can capture from this hair/fur/skin removal process can be pretty hilarious as you can see from the image.
The next series shows the lions really tearing in and having a great time munching down on the muscles and flesh of the waterbuck.
Nikon D850 Nikkor 180-400mm f4.0 ISO2500 f8.0 1/800s Hand-Held
This next one shows a very fulfilled lioness after satisfying her hunger.
Nikon D850 Nikkor 180-400mm f4.0 ISO3200 f8.0 1/800s Hand-Held
Next a series of Lion/Lioness images from a second feeding/kill session which I witnessed in the morning
Lioness stalking
Nikon D850 Nikkor 180-400mm f4.0 ISO400 f5.6 1/500s Hand-Held
Lioness carrying the leftovers of a Wilderbeest leg
Nikon D850 Nikkor 180-400mm f4.0 ISO1600 f5.6 1/2000s Hand-Held
..... and finally to close of this second blog on my Masai Mara Photo Safari , here are a couple of images on the "KING" of the pride.
That's it for now , till my 3rd blog on my adventures at Masai Mara National Park , Kenya.
Cheers,
Andrew