Lioness with cubs

Perfectly timed and I love the subtle motion in their big paws. I think you could play with color/saturation/contrast/levels etc. to make this image really stand out. B&W may be interesting, though I do like the color of the raod.

The colours are verty muted Sandy, almost as if you have applied negative saturation. The 'red' Kalahari sand looks pink rather than red. Was this taken after sunset?

Love seeing photos by others from my beloved Kgalagadi, Sandy.
I agree, the colours look a bit off here - perhaps just a WB issue (I have never been very happy with my Nikon cameras' auto WB especially in soft dusk light)...

Sandy,
Tracks in the sand are something we all have to live with, but for me the colour looks way off. Wherever it was it may have had pink sand but I find it strange

It was an odd cloudy day in the early morning, and these colours are absolutely true - both lions and sand.
Sandy

Hi Sandy, very cool the way you have captured the trio in sharp focus as they approach. Beautiful subjects. This photo really demonstrates how the perception of "true" colour in photography tends to be a subjective matter. It is also interesting that we tend to formulate hypotheses to explain animal behaviour, such as why these lions use the road to walk on. Makes sense that the road would have fewer thorns, but maybe they like the feel of sand? Perhaps they can cover more ground in less time? Maybe their hunting success is greater on the road? Not saying your explanation is incorrect Sandy, I have heard this thorn theory before, just that it always brings out the skeptic in me...

Hey Sandy,

There's no need or requirement to move this to Man & Nature due to the truck tracks...some (including me) prefer wildlife images without obvious evidence of the hand of man, but it certainly isn't something that disqualifies them from being posted here.

Wasn't there myself so won't comment on the colour beyond the fact that it does appear unusual to me too...but that doesn't mean that wasn't the way it was...

Compositionally I think I'd prefer more room in front of the lions (and a little less behind them) - this would add both more perceived depth to the image along with giving the lions more room to move into. But that's clearly a personal preference issue...no right or wrong on that!

Thanks for sharing this one...cheers...

Brad

Really nice eye contact X three!

Hi Sandy, what a lovely moment! When these guys walk up to you, you count your blessings - I love the eye contact here and the tracks they're leaving behind on top of the truck ones…personally I'm also rarely happy with the Nikon Auto WB - in dim light, colours can look odd, and the WB can be off. I thoroughly appreciate your wish to represent the actual situation (I'm the same!) but I doubt if the sand really looked pink? Sorry if I'm mistaken, but I would play with the colours and WB a bit…
Great shot nonetheless!
Grt, Ingrid.