Issue No.22 - International Edition Polo De’Marco Magazine - International Edition | Page 47

3. The lion is a very powerful animal and its known for its pride,
its hunting ability and eye of direction. What makes this animal so
special in your opinion?
It is a fascinating animal that has an incredible presence. We can not forget a
meeting with a wild lion in its natural environment. It is an impressive face-to-
face because we feel all its strength and power, but also all its fragility and the
tenderness it releases.The lion responds very well to the idea that each subject
is unique; no lion is alike and no image of the same lion is comparable. We
can spend hours with one individual and never have the same photo. Not to
mention all the interactions between the members of a clan. The lion offers
subtle and infinite possibilities - strength, fragility, love, tenderness - it’s a treat
for the photographer that I am
4. You made a book called; Lion by Laurent Baheux - what can
buyers expect and is that a way to promote lion preservation?
I think that since I photographed the animals of Africa, I always had in mind
to make a book on the Lion but it was at the moment when the photographic
matter was shown the densest that I could shape. I have been traveling regularly
to Southern and East Africa for 17 years now and have gradually been building
up a collection of wildlife images. My book Lions presents 115 black and white
photographs taken between 2002 and 2019 in Kenya and Botswana as well as in
Namibia, Tanzania, and South Africa. It was not easy to make choices because
over all these years, hundreds of meetings, scenes and portraits have been
made.I do not know if my work can contribute to the preservation of the lion
and especially the free and wild lion in its natural habitat. All my photographs
are taken in a natural environment and not circus or zoo. It is important
to emphasize this because the animal can not release such a personality in
captivity