Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Think of any famous person from the golden age of Hollywood. The second that name comes to mind, you think of (or at least I do) one of only a handful of photographs taken of that person out of millions taken in their lifetime. To say it another way, over the course of time, only a few rare portraits of any famous subject become the icons of an icon. This is the thought I bring to mind when I set out to create a portrait of an apex species – the goal is not to capture an image that documents this subject, the goal is capture an image that is the first thing that someone thinks of when they hear the word, lion.

I reminded myself of this lofty objective as I came across one of the largest male lions I’d ever seen lying beneath an acacia tree in the Masai Mara. I laid down on the floor of my 4×4 so I would be at his eye level. As he gazed back at me, his regal demeanor seemed to bleed through the lens. I had my guide make small adjustments to the positioning of the truck and squeezed off this frame. For this image, I utilized a 1:1 ratio and a symmetrical composition – a combination that encourages the viewer to explore the minute scars on his face and the wild contrasts in his mane. It is my sincere hope that Noble inspires a sense of awe, wonder, and curiosity to visit and protect the domain of the lion.