The Carry — lioness carrying her cub in her mouth, black and white fine art photograph from Maasai Mara, Kenya by Vasilis Moustakas
The Carry — lioness carrying her cub in her mouth, black and white fine art photograph from Maasai Mara, Kenya by Vasilis Moustakas

The Carry

$1,000.00

Maasai Mara, Kenya 2023

What I look for most in the wild is strong emotion, and few things in nature carry it harder than a mother lioness with her cub in her mouth. But the emotion alone is not the photograph. The photograph is the gesture — the specific alignment of the walking with the faces, the way the mother's profile and the cub's body fall into the same line for a fraction of a second before the next step breaks it.

I wanted to show this from a personal perspective. Close enough to feel like you are walking next to her. The eyes of the mother in side profile, calm and forward. The cub's body loose but his stance distinct — paws hanging, head turned, alive in her grip. That alignment held for almost no time at all. Most frames from those seconds did not work. This one did.

You wait whole mornings for a lion to walk into the right light or look the right direction. With a mother carrying a cub, the seconds you have are not even seconds. They are fractions. There is no second take.

This image belongs to The Heart of the Wild. The Mara is full of moments like this one if you slow down enough to see them and quick enough to react when they appear. The two things sound contradictory but they are not. Patience is what gets you in the right place. Speed is what gets you the frame. Without both, you are looking at an image you almost made.

True love in the wild is rare to see and harder to photograph. When it shows itself, your only job is to be ready.

Maasai Mara, Kenya 2023

What I look for most in the wild is strong emotion, and few things in nature carry it harder than a mother lioness with her cub in her mouth. But the emotion alone is not the photograph. The photograph is the gesture — the specific alignment of the walking with the faces, the way the mother's profile and the cub's body fall into the same line for a fraction of a second before the next step breaks it.

I wanted to show this from a personal perspective. Close enough to feel like you are walking next to her. The eyes of the mother in side profile, calm and forward. The cub's body loose but his stance distinct — paws hanging, head turned, alive in her grip. That alignment held for almost no time at all. Most frames from those seconds did not work. This one did.

You wait whole mornings for a lion to walk into the right light or look the right direction. With a mother carrying a cub, the seconds you have are not even seconds. They are fractions. There is no second take.

This image belongs to The Heart of the Wild. The Mara is full of moments like this one if you slow down enough to see them and quick enough to react when they appear. The two things sound contradictory but they are not. Patience is what gets you in the right place. Speed is what gets you the frame. Without both, you are looking at an image you almost made.

True love in the wild is rare to see and harder to photograph. When it shows itself, your only job is to be ready.

‘‘Patience is what gets you in the right place. Speed is what gets you the frame.’’

The Carry — black and white lioness fine art print, framed, by Vasilis Moustakas

The Edition

Edition of 7 + 2 Artist Proofs

The seven prints are shared across all three sizes, so whichever scale you choose, it is one of seven. When the last print is placed, the image is retired and never printed again.

Pricing follows the edition. Each print placed moves the next one up, so the earliest collectors acquire the work at its lowest price.

Sizes

Small: 18 × 24 in (46 × 61 cm)
Medium: 30 × 40 in (76 × 102 cm)
Large: 40 × 53.25 in (102 × 135 cm)

Prices begin at $1,000 for the Small print.

The Print

Each print is made as an archival pigment print on Hahnemühle fine art paper, chosen for its depth, tonal range and a surface that rewards close looking. Every print is signed and numbered by hand and arrives with a Certificate of Authenticity recording the title, edition number and production details.

Framing

Bespoke framing is available on request. Tell me about the wall and the room, and I'll put together a frame, mount and finish that suit both the work and where it will live.

Acquiring the Work

For pricing and availability, write to me directly. Every enquiry is answered personally.

ENQUIRE ABOUT THIS PRINT
Framing and Display Options