Camera: Canon R5

Lens: RF 400mm f/2.8

Aperture: f/2.8

Shutter speed: 1/1250

ISO: ISO 100

Description: A male cheetah stands next to a tree

Story from behind the lens: It was our first afternoon in the Mara and we were greeted by a male cheetah in the vast grasslands. He casually walked through the tall grass and sniffed and sprayed here and there. Then we saw him head for this gnarly tree. Our guide, Wilson, drove over and positioned us so that we could get a shot of the cheetah with the sun behind us. As the cheetah sniffed and sprayed the tree, there was a moment where he paused, and looked out amongst the vast lands. I caught him flicking his tail before he began to walk again. This image spoke to me somehow. It has some sort of balance and harmony to it. The way the tail of the cheetah flicks up and almost mirrors the curvature of the tree branches, compliments each other.