Photographer Captures Image of Lion Just Before It Attacks Him

[Miles Archer]

Photographer Captures Image of Lion Just Before It Attacks Him

http://expandedconsciousness.com/2015/04/10/photographer-captures-image-of-lion-just-before-it-attacks-him/





Pakistani photographer, Atif Saeed, was able to capture these amazing images just moments before the lion charged at him.

“I was sitting in front of him just near my car and the door of my car was open. I was sat on ground few feet away, so he was treating me like his prey… I was laughing at that time, but now when I think back about the incident I don’t think I would be able to do it again. It was a pretty close encounter,” Saeed told the Daily Mail.

While on a safari at a zoo park near Lahore, he locked eyes with this majestic creature. Saeed was a mere 10 feet away from the lion when he captured these images. Luckily he was able to scramble to safety in his car and was not seriously injured.

[Historic NY]

1. Reminds of the grizzly bear guy...

living with them and videoing them. He became the dinner entrée, its on film too.

[onehandle]

2. Sometimes you eat the bar and sometimes the bar eats you.

[Lochloosa]

10. BEST MOVIE EVER

well almost.

[hifiguy]

34. Definitely top 10.

The Dude abides.

[Renew Deal]

3. The king of the jungle needs a tooth brush

[City Lights]

4. Wow.

[Euphoria]

5. What a jerk. The photographer.

I was betting on the lion.

[philosslayer]

6. Why is he a jerk?

[sammythecat]

13. Holy shit! ..."betting on the lion."?

I'm all about respecting animals, none more so than the big cats, but the guy was just taking pictures. Pictures that could very well inspire some indifferent person that maybe these magnificent creatures are indeed worth protecting.

Why the hostility toward the guy?

[snooper2]

21. they were in a public place, he didn't need lion's permission to take pictures-

[Buns_of_Fire]

7. At least the story didn't read "The undeveloped film, along with the camera,

was discovered in a pile of lion poop."

[closeupready]

11. lol

[frylock]

22. yeah, happy to learn that this wasn't found footage

[newfie11]

8. Awesome picture! Nt

[Bonx]

9. Aw... Here Kitty ! Nice Kitty ! Lemme scratch your tummy...

[Hoyt]

12. My cat looks like that when hungry. Great photos. eom

[KittyWampus]

16. My cat also looks like that if I try to shoo him off my lap to go to the bathroom.

[Hoyt]

17. Try giving one a bath. I did once, and he tore my arms up.

[Jack Rabbit]

23. Yeah, but when your cat is hungry you have the comfort on knowing you're not on the menu

!!

[ieoeja]

27. Said no cat owner ever. n/t

[Jack Rabbit]

32. Are you talking to me?

[center]


Spiffie and Offspring
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[nomorenomore08]

45. Don't mess with Mama Kitty!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

28. Yet.

[central scrutinizer]

14. If the photographer had been from Prague

we could say, "The Czech's in the male"

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

15. I'm glad the photographer was OK

but I'm wondering about the condition of his pants.

I know what would've happened to mine...

[bvar22]

18. I would hate for that to be the last face I ever see.

It has been for many.
What a way to go.

[B2G]

19. "Here kitty kitty ki..."

[hunter]

20. It looks more like a threat display than hunting.

Like a lion going after a rival or a hyena.

Still, just as deadly for a human being.

Lesson to learn: Don't stare at the lions.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

29. Yup. Threat display.

"Get the hell out of my territory, puny human!" Cats regard direct eye contact as aggressive (unless you are their human and are doing the slow-blink thing). Don't look lions in the eye.

[uppityperson]

35. that was my thought also, threat, intimidation, not attack.

[Fuddnik]

24. He'll win an honorable mention for a Darwin Award.

[jtuck004]

25. That cat is a big supporter of Meals on Wheels. n/t

[fasttense]

26. Wow, that's one mean cat.

Considering that humans were the main prey of saber-tooth lions and some of the other big cats, this is probably a look our ancestors understood well.

[packman]

30. Holy shit

brings to mind the old saying, "The ONLY reason your family cat doesn't eat you is that you can't fit into his mouth in one bite."
Frightening, yet at the same time, oddly magnificent.

[kiri]

31. so few lions

so many Christians.

Note that this story about Christian martyrs in Rome is 98% myth.

[Rex]

43. Aw they are just big cats! They still act like small cats.

Or is it small cats act like big cats?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/13-reminders-that-big-cats-are-basically-house-cats#.lrMn6AYex4

[hifiguy]

33. For his sake, I hope the photog was wearing his brown trousers.

[progressoid]

36. And over-processes it.

Back off on the vignetting and sharpening dude.

[Miles Archer]

39. Agreed...and i say that as an unapologetic Photoshop junkie.

Granted, he captured a moment. Maybe the moment would have been a tad more powerful with a little less help from Adobe.

[Rex]

37. I wonder why lions have human-like pupils, but my house cats have reptilian-like pupils? nt

nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

41. It's because they don't hunt small prey so they don't need sharper focus.

Lions have round pupils instead of vertical ones like domestic cats. Vertical pupils make an animal better able to focus sharply on small prey. They are found only in the smaller cats, but that wouldn't be useful for large animals like lions, which hunt large prey.

[Rex]

42. Thanks I always wondered.

Do big cats have the same level of night vision as small cats?

[titaniumsalute]

38. This is like people who get a few hundred feet from a tornado

WTF are you thinking? I'd shit my pants if I saw that and I certainly would not have been out of my car.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

40. two issues...

both of them minor.

1) Overprocessed pic... I bet it looked better raw.
2) I don't think the lion sees him as prey but as a threat. Two reasons for that? Male lions in a pride generally don't hunt... the lionesses do (not sure if there was a pride he was a part of). Second, that face is a threat display. It is an attempt to scare off what he's approaching.

sP

[tblue37]

44. Magnificent creature--and terrifying.

I can't believe that fool was laughing as the lion charged. Some people seem to think nature is just a Disneyland theme park.

[raccoon]

46. Gosh, that could give you nightmares. I was expecting to read that

the photographer was dead.

[okasha]

47. Way too much Photoshop.

Ijit should never have been outside his car.

[AZ Progressive]

48. Something doesn't add up

While on a safari at a zoo park near Lahore, he locked eyes with this majestic creature. Saeed was a mere 10 feet away from the lion when he captured these images

I've done a lot of photography and that photo was not taken from 10 feet away. That's a telephoto and I'd estimate a lot farther than 10 feet away.

Here are some photos claimed to be taken from 10 feet away:







These photos were claimed to be taken at 30 feet away:





Compare to the original image





In fact, if you see the original image that was posted online, it says that it was shot at 500 mm, on a full frame Nikon D4.

https://500px.com/photo/92991323/the-ghost-and-the-darkness-by-atif-saeed?from=user


Here's an example of what a 500 mm lens looks like (in terms of size):



This is for photographing things very far away. Certainly not something from 10 feet away (unless it was really small).

Here's a sample image taken from a 500mm lens, which was certainly taken from a lot farther than 10 feet away: