Sadala III

Sadala III, Mara North Conservancy, Kenya

The other Sadala images in this collection show him in motion — climbing, poised, grinning at the camera with the unselfconscious energy of a cub for whom the world is still entirely a playground. This one is different, and the difference is considerable.

Sadala (meaning 'playful' in Maa) is sitting alone, settled back on his haunches, looking directly at the lens with an expression that stops you. Mournful is the word that comes to mind and stays there. It is not a scientific description — cheetah cubs do not experience melancholy in the way the word implies — but as a reading of what the face is doing in this particular frame, in this particular light, it is difficult to improve on. The eyes are soft and direct simultaneously. The posture is still. There is none of the kinetic restlessness visible in every other image of him.

The savannah grass behind him places the image firmly in the landscape — this is not a studio portrait, not an isolated study, but an animal sitting in the middle of a very large ecosystem, temporarily alone in the way that young cheetahs sometimes are when their mother has moved slightly ahead or fallen behind. That aloneness reads in the frame. The grass stretches away behind her without offering any particular shelter or context, and Sadala sits within it as a small, self-contained presence against a very large world.

Black and white was the right choice. Colour would have introduced the warmth of the savannah tones and lifted the mood of the image in a direction that would have worked against it. Monochrome holds the quietness, the stillness, the particular quality of that gaze. It is the most contemplative image in the collection, and it earns that quality entirely.

Every collection of wildlife photography needs at least one image that asks for stillness from the person looking at it. This is that image.

About These Prints

Every print is produced by Whitewall, voted the world’s best photo lab by TIPA for multiple years. The quality speaks for itself.

Fine Art Print — Hahnemühle Photo Rag paper, printed with a 1cm border. A museum-quality archival paper that renders tone and shadow with exceptional depth.

Framed Print — As above, with a 3cm passe-partout mount and a 2cm black oak frame. Ready to hang.

Artbox — The image mounted behind glass in a slim aluminium frame. Clean, contemporary, and particularly striking at larger sizes.

Do visit my Prints and Framing page for more information on these products.

A note on sizing

All sizes refer to the image area only — the border, mount, and frame add to the overall dimensions. If you’re buying for a specific wall space or an existing frame, please factor this in. Not sure? Drop me a message and I’ll help you work it out.

Something else in mind?

Different size, different frame, different format entirely — I’m happy to help. Get in touch via the Contact page and I’ll do my best to sort it.

All prints are supplied without watermark or copyright overlay.