This may be one of the images I have waited the longest for. One afternoon in the Masai Mara we found this lioness resting up on the trunk of a fallen tree. She was a little distanced from the rest of the pride, which contained five cubs, so over the course of the afternoon, as I waited for her to rouse from her slumber, dozens of safari cars passed behind me hell bent on seeing the cubs and ignoring the sleeping lioness.

After a couple of hours, which in a hot car feels like a lot more, she stood up, took a few paces forward and then did this – a beautiful reward for the hours we had put in to waiting.

This though, is par for the course when photographing lions. Often they can sleep for up to 20 hours of the day, so to turn up at a sighting and expect a magic moment is unrealistic – but that’s the joy of working with wild animals.

This lioness, from the world renowned Marsh Pride, spent the next few weeks with her pride hunting and living around a marsh less than 100 meters from my cottage. To have been able to spend such a great portion of my 20’s with these animals as my neighbours has been a true privilege.

As with all images in this collection, 10% of the proceeds from this image will be split between David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation and Saving The Wild, my two partnered charities. It is thanks to the efforts of dedicated individuals and organisations like these that I, and many others, are able to still enjoy the incredible wildlife Africa has to offer. It is imperative to me therefore, that my images are able to help them achieve their missions and amplify their message.