Lion Family Portrait—The Story Behind the Shot
“There lies a lion in every heart.”
There’s something about lions that is raw, real, and totally mesmerizing. Here’s the story behind the image on the cover of my children’s storybook A Mother’s Love.
Listen to me tell the story or read on below.
In January 2018 I joined a group of photographers for an 8-day photo trip on the Maasai Mara in Kenya. Our Maasai guides were lined up and waiting for us at the edge of the grassy landing strip when we touched down after a short flight from Nairobi. They loaded our bags into the trucks and we headed off to camp, eager for a week of encounters with Kenya’s iconic wildlife.
After a 45-minute drive, we arrived at camp, dumped our bags in our tents, grabbed water bottles and camera gear, and assembled back at the trucks for our first game drive. A typical day on safari includes two game drives, one begins predawn and returns to camp for lunch during the hottest part of the day. The second heads out around 3:30 - 4:00 as the afternoon begins to cool off and animal activity increases. The camp was spread out in a line of tents facing the open savannah with a treed backdrop that hid a small creek, home to a pod of hippos.
As I climbed into one of the trucks, our guide, Nelson, turned to the 3 photographers sitting in the tiered seats of the Land Cruiser and announced, “There are some lions close by.” “Twende!” (that’s Swahili for let’s go!)
I’d focused on the outline of the camp as we drove in. Now, facing the savannah, I noticed what Nelson meant when he said, “Close by.” There were several lions a few hundred yards from camp! Translation - “There are lions RIGHT HERE.”
Soon we were part of a parade of lions as several more cubs emerged from the shelter of the shrubs. These youngsters were big, likely close to a year old. Immature lions are identifiable by their smaller size and dappled spots on their legs. These patterns disappear over time. A lion’s fur fades to a uniform tawny yellow as the lion matures.
Lions are the only cats that live in social family groups. They are affectionate and playful when they aren’t sleeping or hunting. It’s hard not to think of them as big pussy cats, their behaviour is so familiar. They snuggle up against each other, wash each other’s faces, stretch and yawn just like a housecat.
There was no sense of urgency as the animals gathered to prepare for the evening hunt. It was still too light out for any action. Lions hunt under the cover of darkness like a finely tuned stealth team. The youngsters watch from the sidelines where they are instructed to stay put. The mothers want them to learn to hunt, but they don’t want them to get in the way or spook the prey - the survival of the whole pride is dependent on the lionesses providing food. Male lions generally leave the hunting to the females then show up for the first bite of dinner. This healthy young male looked like he never had to wait for his share.
Nelson followed the lions at a respectful distance skillfully lining up the Land Cruiser in a good position for the photographers. I hoped to get a family portrait, but wildlife does not respond to hand signals like “move closer, look at me, or everyone say cheese.” The scene reminded me a lot of trying to organize my own family for group photos – it was chaotic to say the least.
When one of the lionesses finally settled down on a dirt mound her cubs gathered around her. I waited for the moment when they all looked in the same direction. A photograph of lions looking every which way is a record, but not a compelling image. A shot of lions in a tight unit looking in the same direction creates cohesion, tension and energy. It implies a story and has impact.
Like most family portrait sessions, the moment was fleeting. The kids quickly got bored and moved on to check out what the other mothers and cubs were up to.
Light fades quickly on the Mara because it is so close to the equator. However, night vision is not an issue for lions. Their eyesight is eight times better than ours at night. They have a reflective coating on the back of their eyes and white lines under their eyes that reflect light and increases their vision in the dark.
When it was too dark to photograph, our growling tummies reminded us that there was a hot dinner waiting to be served back in camp. We headed home, leaving the lionesses planning the evening meal for their family.
PS - It’s not too late to enter the free draw to win a signed 8x11 fine art print on archival matte paper of the Lion Family Portrait. Leave a comment or send an email to kathy@kathykarn.com answering one question: “How would you describe my website to a good friend who hasn’t visited it?” The winner will be announced at the end of May.