“Amber starts off as sap from a tree," Joseph said in the dark. "And sometimes insects get caught in it, and over millions of years the amber turns into a gemstone, but it traps the insect inside."

"Oh."

"A photograph is sort of like that, don't you think?” - Brian Selznick

I find more and more that many of the images I take ‘grab’ me more as time goes on. The Monochrome Monday project that I have undertaken often forces me to look back in the archives in order to find the right images for the monochrome conversions and this often leads me to finding a few “gems” now and then. In this week’s blog, I’ve gone back to the many image folders from the month of June and selected some of my favorite lion photos. I hope you enjoy it...

A beautiful morning scene where we stumbled upon some females from the Southern Pride and were treated to this opportunity of having the youngest lioness resting atop a giant termite mound in an attempt to warm up.

Everyone should by now know that I thoroughly enjoy night-time photography and this was just a perfect opportunity to play with some side-lighting and grab an interesting photo of one of the Charleston males.

I don’t know exactly what it is about photographing animals drinking, but satisfaction is almost always guaranteed...especially when the light is good.

It is a fact that naturally some animals must die in order for others to live, and this moment was a way to preserve that moment of clarity.

Again, not always a pretty sight to see lions feeding on the carcass of a fallen animal, but man it is impressive when they get stuck in and compete for the right to feed.

Combining two things I love: night-time wildlife photography and a cat’s yawn.

This was an awesome moment at the site of a buffalo carcass and the light was just perfect on these two as they nuzzled one another.

This is the look of determination. We spent the morning with this lioness as she attempted to stalk several different animal species without much success. It’s tough when on your own.

This Charleston male is probably one of the most recognizable lions in Southern Africa right now due the tooth hanging out of his mouth. It gives him such character!

The confidence of the two Southern Pride cubs is astounding and not only with regards to vehicle presence, but towards other animals as well. While drinking here, they were no further than several meters from a large hippo that was eyeing them out and they couldn’t be bothered.