Ron Magill’s favorite wildlife photos: Lions, leopards, lemurs and (oh my) a rare Shaq
Ron Magill’s stated mission in life is to connect people with the wild world. As the communications director of Zoo Miami, he’s employed many talents to do so. His quick wit, encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and uncanny ability to mimic mating calls have turned him into an international celebrity.
But his photographic eye is arguably his greatest gift. Many of Magill ‘s award-winning images, captured at Zoo Miami and across numerous continents, are displayed on his website and have earned him a “Nikon ambassador” title. Magill views photography as an extension of his conservation advocacy — a way to put a spotlight on wildlife worth protecting.
With Magill, of course, each image also produces a memorable story (with lots of exclamation points!!) Here he describes some of his favorite images:
Pantanal caiman
“I was in the Brazilian Pantanal with the main goal of photographing jaguars when I came upon a small body of water at sunrise filled with caiman that were busy catching fish. The caiman would catch the fish underwater and then raise their heads above water to reposition the fish in their mouths for easy swallowing. This action occurred very rapidly with the caiman opening and closing its mouth quickly while shifting the fish inside. I tried several times to capture on interesting image of this behavior without success (sun in the wrong place, animal facing away, fish in the wrong position, etc.).
Then, after a great deal of frustration, this individual caiman surfaced in a perfect spot! He emerged without making any large ripples in the water so I was able to capture a decent reflection and as he rapidly opened and closed his mouth, I fired a burst at 12 frames a second! As I looked to see what I was able to capture, I came across this image and literally screamed out loud in the middle of the Pantanal without another soul around!! It was exactly what I had hoped for!”
Antarctica crab eater seal
“I photographed this scene during my first trip to Antarctica. As I drifted up to this crab eater seal lying on a large piece of floating ice, it casually lifted its head and looked up at me. Whereas I tend to use long lenses to capture tight intimate portraits of animals, I chose a wider lens for this image because I was truly blown away by this incredibly pristine environment.
“I was surrounded by crystal clear water, massive chunks of turquoise ice, pure white snow against a clear blue sky. You could see the gusts of wind blowing snow off of the mountains in the background. What you could not see was any sign of mankind anywhere! I felt as if it could have been a thousand years ago. It was almost like being on another planet. It was surreal.”
Shaq & the mouse lemur
“I generally don’t like to photograph people (I’m just not very good at it) but on this occasion, I was trying to make an image to raise awareness about the world’s smallest primate, a mouse lemur, along with conservation efforts in its native habitat in Madagascar. Being that humans are also primates, I thought it would be neat to have the worlds smallest primates with one of the worlds largest humans!
“I have been very fortunate to develop a friendship with (former Miami Heat star) Shaquille O’Neal over the years and I asked him if he would pose for me with a mouse lemur to help raise conservation awareness to which he generously agreed. As this tiny primate with large eyes relaxed in Shaq’s massive hand, I asked Shaq to look at me like a mouse lemur. This is that frame and this image received tremendous exposure in helping to raise awareness about the mouse lemur and conservation efforts in Madagascar.”
Londolozi leopard and cub
“My wife Rita and I were on safari in South Africa when we saw this adult leopard catch and kill a steenbok (small antelope). We followed her as she disappeared into some tall grass at the base of a termite mound. She then suddenly appeared at the top of the termite mound without the antelope! I suggested to my wife that she may have cubs and left the prey for them to eat at the base of the mound where she had them hidden. I said that we should wait to see if the cubs emerge.
“After waiting for over an hour, my wife started to become impatient and asked, How long are we going to wait for this? I told her just a little bit longer (photographer talk for as long as it takes!). She then said that she didn’t think there were any cubs and that we should probably move on. Then, just as I was about to try to make her happy and leave, the grass at the base of the mound started to move and all of a sudden, this beautiful cub emerged and went straight for its mothers face rubbing its head against her while pointing its tail straight up! It still remains one of my all-time favorite images!”
Uganda charging hippo
“I was on the Nile River in Uganda doing a photo essay on hippos. Hippos are considered the most dangerous animals in Africa and are responsible for more human injuries and deaths than any other animal. Understanding this, we were in a small motorized boat and made sure to keep a distance of at least 40 feet between the boat and any hippo. We came upon this large male that appeared to be fairly relaxed in the water. We cut off the engine and drifted slowly as I leaned over the edge of the boat to have the camera at water level to create an image from the perspective of the hippo. I had a long telephoto lens on the camera and as I leaned down to look through the viewfinder to frame my shot, the hippo suddenly lunged out of the water like a porpoise and came straight for us!
“My guide quickly turned on the motor and headed full speed away from this lunging massive beast that got as close as ten feet before we were able to pull away!!! When we were able to get back to camp with our hearts still beating out of our chests, I started looking through the images on my camera when I came across this one! As much as I would love to say that I purposely took this image, the fact is that it was by total accident!! What must have happened was that as I was looking through the viewfinder and saw the hippo suddenly lunge right at me, I must have tensed my fingers and accidentally pressed the shutter!! To this day, when I look at this image, my heart beats a little faster!”
Okavango lioness
“I had just photographed a pack of African painted dogs as they made a kill and were in the process of consuming it when I noticed across a waterway a lioness that had emerged out of the grass. Normally lions avoid water but in the Okavango Delta, they are surrounded by it and have evolved to learn to hunt in it. Knowing this, I quickly positioned my vehicle between the lioness and the pack of dogs on the kill, knowing that she would try to come and steal it. Just as I got into position, she lunged into the water.
“The sun had just set and the light was truly golden. As she came running right towards me, I aimed my camera and shot off a burst of frames. This one was my favorite as it showed the focus in her eyes, the reflection in the water, and the frozen splash of mud and water with gorgeous side lighting! She ended up running within five feet of my vehicle and did indeed take the prey away from the dogs, only to have it stolen from her by a cackle of hyenas that showed up shortly afterwards!”
