One year, as I entered the Seronera Valley, I heard my guides discussing a particular female lion that consistently climbed trees. She had just paired off to mate with a dominant male which meant they would spend the next two weeks together with no other lions around. So naturally, the question my guides were debating was, “if the female climbed the tree during, would the male follow her up the tree?” Of course this sparked hope in my mind to be able to capture such a rare moment.

The very next evening, after one of their couplings, the female climbed a scrawny tree and the male, after some hesitation, struggled up to a lower fork. It was raining, the light was terrible, and he was awkwardly balanced on limbs barely above the level of the high grasses while she stood on a branch above him. Nonetheless, a number of nearby guides and rangers rushed over to witness and were all amazed at this sighting. Despite their enthusiasm for the rarity of this sighting, I was underwhelmed – it was nothing impressive to photograph. Still, my mind held out hope of something more.

Two nights later, after very little movement all day, the female made her way up into the branches of one of the most magnificent Acacia trees in the valley, while the male stayed on the ground. Because of the height of her perch and the vertical nature of the central trunk, my guide didn’t think that the male would be able to make the steep climb. But soon, he was overcome by desire and climbed the tree with some degree of confidence, pausing in the central fork – his eyes fixed on her.

The sun was setting, the tree itself looked like a work of art, and I could barely believe how perfect the scene was as I peered through the viewfinder. I called to my guide to remain still and held my breath as I squeezed off exposures of ⅓ – ½ second – a literal eternity for trying to freeze wildlife from the back of a 4×4.

Moments later my guide reminded me of the time. We had to leave them to make it back to camp in accordance with park regulations. I took a few more frames and conceded. As we bumped along the road I replayed those moments in my head and knew that this was one of the rarest and most visually stunning things I’d ever witnessed, but I was on the edge of what was possible from an exposure standpoint – I wondered if the truck was still enough. I forced the questions from my mind and went to bed determined to make the most of the next day.

Months later, back in the states, I finally saw the final result and was elated to know without a doubt that I had a tack-sharp exposure that I knew would spellbind and inspire. I titled the piece Desire because the only thing I knew of that would take a male lion up a tree was the desire for his mate.