Marsel van Oosten
The Family
We’re currently in the lounge at OR Tambo International Airport, South Africa - waiting for the second leg of our flight to Maun, Botswana.
So many great memories from our previous trips here, so I’m really looking forward to what Botswana will bring us this time. Here’s one of those great memories from a previous Botswana tour.
We had tracked down this lioness with three cubs and spent many hours with them over a period of several days. The best moments were when mom decided to move to a different spot and bring the cubs with her. Those cute little bundles of fur bouncing around, jumping on each other and practice their stalking skills.
In wildlife photography it’s almost always about luck: we have little to no influence over the behavior of the subjects that we photograph. Most successful wildlife images are therefore primarily the result of luck. This one is no different. I had no influence on where this family was going, what they were going to do, how they would organize themselves in the frame, nor on the light, etc.
The only thing you can do as a wildlife photographer is to focus on the things you know or have influence on. Knowing your subject is critical when you want to make the right decisions. In this case I anticipated that the lions might be walking to a waterhole - it was that time of day and there was one close by. Instead of following the family and reacting to their actions, I decided to drive straight to the waterhole to give us some time to put ourselves in the right spot. There was no direct light anymore, so that was not a factor.
Looking at the small waterhole, there was one side that I liked, the other side was ugly. So I asked my guide to park the vehicle on the ugly side of the waterhole. That also meant that the lions would not go and drink on the ugly side, because we were already occupying that spot.
When the lions arrived, everything worked out exactly how I wanted it. We were very lucky to get what we got, but the image is the result of proactively managing our luck.
Marsel | squiver.com
©2019 Marsel van Oosten, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.
The Family
We’re currently in the lounge at OR Tambo International Airport, South Africa - waiting for the second leg of our flight to Maun, Botswana.
So many great memories from our previous trips here, so I’m really looking forward to what Botswana will bring us this time. Here’s one of those great memories from a previous Botswana tour.
We had tracked down this lioness with three cubs and spent many hours with them over a period of several days. The best moments were when mom decided to move to a different spot and bring the cubs with her. Those cute little bundles of fur bouncing around, jumping on each other and practice their stalking skills.
In wildlife photography it’s almost always about luck: we have little to no influence over the behavior of the subjects that we photograph. Most successful wildlife images are therefore primarily the result of luck. This one is no different. I had no influence on where this family was going, what they were going to do, how they would organize themselves in the frame, nor on the light, etc.
The only thing you can do as a wildlife photographer is to focus on the things you know or have influence on. Knowing your subject is critical when you want to make the right decisions. In this case I anticipated that the lions might be walking to a waterhole - it was that time of day and there was one close by. Instead of following the family and reacting to their actions, I decided to drive straight to the waterhole to give us some time to put ourselves in the right spot. There was no direct light anymore, so that was not a factor.
Looking at the small waterhole, there was one side that I liked, the other side was ugly. So I asked my guide to park the vehicle on the ugly side of the waterhole. That also meant that the lions would not go and drink on the ugly side, because we were already occupying that spot.
When the lions arrived, everything worked out exactly how I wanted it. We were very lucky to get what we got, but the image is the result of proactively managing our luck.
Marsel | squiver.com
©2019 Marsel van Oosten, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.