Bob Jr. is an African, Black Maned Lion whose sire was the famous, original Bob Marley. He has formed a coalition with his brother, Marley. Marley is the matinee idol handsome member of the coalition. Bob Jr. has a much darker mane, many scars, and very dark eyes. He looks angry (and hungry). His home range is in the Central Area of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, near the Namiri Plains Camp.
We visited the park in early November, at the very end of the dry season. The park managers had conducted a controlled burn in the area a few weeks before our visit. Without even the dry grass to hold it down, the constant wind raised a huge amount of dust. It was hard on the eyes of the lions, (as well as my camera gear). The lions' nictitating membranes were partially up, protecting their eyes, and making their stare even more striking.
When I processed the image, I realized how much black and white increased the drama and intensity of Bob Jr.'s grizzled appearance and extremely scary stare.
A special thanks to Namiri Plains Asilia Guide Anderson Kayle for spending all day with me, and on into the evening tracking the brothers for the perfect shot.
I took the image with a Canon EOS R6 with an EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM extender lens, hand-held. The exposure settings were 1/1250 sec at f/6.3, ISO 3200, 560 mm, hand-held. Taken November 9, 2022.