2017 Wildlife Photo Contest

Species: Lion | Location: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda

We spent many days in the parks and didn't see lions. Then I'd see them, but always in the shade, lying down. Finding a lion in good light is a miracle. Finding a family was unbelievable. In the sun. At first they were all laying down, then they played a lot, then the dad and mom made love with the cub watching closely, and at the end , just before they disappeared into the tall grasses, they posed for a family portrait. I was ( and am) ecstatic.

After we first got there four other vehicles with lodge guests pulled up. They snapped shots of the lions lying down. After about 10 minutes they "had seen lions" and off they all went. Yippee! We watched for several hours more and as the light got lower the above activities began. We felt so lucky to have remembered that the way we love best to see wildlife is to just sit still in one place and observe.

About The Photographer

I have been passionate about photography since childhood. I had a darkroom in my mom's canning cellar at age 13. In my professional life as an AIDS doctor I did a lot of teaching other doctors and I used my images in my powerpoints ( instead of blue slides with tables and graphs) to be able to share the personal part of the story. In this work I am able to travel to many places in the developing world, many with amazing natural beauty and wildlife. I have had many wonderful photographic moments in the village, the hospital and the game parks. I teach photography in Boulder, Colorado where I live, at the local camera store, as well as at a beautiful retreat center in British Colombia ( hollyhock.ca) and lead a photographic expedition to the Galapagos each year. I wrote a book for my students, "From Point ant Shoot to Brilliant Photography"--full of my photographs. What fun!