Rumbling Thunders and the Phantom Lioness

• Photographer
  Varun Aditya

Masai Mara in the month of November is filled with short rains, absolutely dramatic cloud formations and is literally a paradise for photographers. The combination of dramatic dark clouds along with the endless Savannah is Nature’s way of showering its blessings onto a place. My choice has always been to focus on such amazing weather rather than the subject and hence, I chose to visit Masai Mara in the month of November. On that particular day on a hilly area, the thick clouds began darkening and the entire place was ready to welcome the rain, while I spotted this Lioness lying in front of the mount. I badly wanted the Lioness to climb up the mount in order to capture a surreal and haunting atmosphere. After waiting for a long time, to my excitement, she made her way up the small mount and began sleeping. Soon enough, the monsoon clouds thundered and rained heavily, thus waking up the sleeping beauty. She woke up with a gentle stretch and an enormous yawn. The Lioness with the giant yawn, the small pond, tiny mount, thundering clouds, phantom darkness, chilling breeze and the endless greens were all the perfect combination for a beautiful composition of haunting stillness and rumbling thunders. Nikon D810; Nikon 105mm f/2.8G at 105mm; 1/800s at f/2.8 (-0.7 e/v); ISO 3200; Handheld