I've always been a fan of the "from behind" shot of animals. You don't usually see them from this perspective in books or on television. I think though that many times we get distracted by looking at an animal's face, and so either give short shrift to (or miss entirely) the beauty of the rest of the creature. Typical photos of lions focus on their manes, eyes, or more commonly their teeth, which tend to emphasize their violent carnivorous behavior and more dramatic physical features. Abstracting those elements from a photograph forces you to notice the other aspects of a lion, the texture of the fur, the variations in coloration, the thickness of the body, the relaxed posture, etc. I am willing to bet that very few of you knew that African lions had black stripes across the back of their ears until now!
