Big Cat Tales: Capturing Africa's wildlife with DSLRs and the Canon EOS C300 Mark II

When the much anticipated follow-up to the 1999 series Big Cat Diary aired on the Discovery Channel, fans were treated to a whole new perspective on lions, leopards and cheetahs. The original crew, Jonathan Scott and Angela Scott, used their Cinema EOS cameras and Canon DSLRs to film and photograph faster, get closer and show the world of big cats like we’ve never seen it before in the Big Cat Tales.

"I have always loved adventure – and been adventurous," says Jonathan Scott, "so Africa was exactly what I was looking for and offered me the chance to live a wild life." Together with his wife, fellow photographer Angela Scott, he has carved out a unique career as a zoologist, conservationist, television wildlife documentary presenter and award-winning wildlife photographer.

Jonathan was born and educated in the UK, but Africa has been his adopted home for the past 44 years. He began presenting wildlife documentaries in the early 1980s, and has gone on to front programmes including Flamingo Watch (1995) and Big Cat Diary (1996-2008). Together with Angela, he has also produced 35 books on wildlife. Yet both Jonathan and Angela started out primarily as photographers and remain so today. Both have been Canon Ambassadors since 2009 and both, uniquely, have separately won the coveted Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.

In this interview, Jonathan talks about his fascination for African wildlife and the Cinema EOS cameras, DSLRs, CN-E lenses and L-series lenses that allow him to work long days, shoot in low light and capture moving cheetahs at 70mph.

When did you start working professionally as a photographer?

"When I came to live in the Maasai Mara in 1977 I really started to take photography more seriously. I started spending every penny I could save on new cameras and lenses. Angie and I were fortunate to establish ourselves through best-selling books such as The Marsh Lions (1982) and The Leopard's Tale (1985), which led to picture libraries approaching us to market our images. Winning the Overall Award in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition (me in 1987 and Angie in 2002) had a huge effect on our lives, and we are tremendously proud to be the only couple in the history of the competition to both have won this award."

What makes big cats so special to photograph?

"I think it's the combination of 'beauty and the beast' when it comes to the big cats. And they are so different – lions, leopards and cheetahs look and act so differently. The combination of their exquisite beauty with that electrifying explosion of speed and power when they hunt makes me feel so alive. It stirs something deep within me. Angie loves lions for their social nature – the sisterhood. She feels a special empathy with them, while I love the solitary leopard for its adaptability and ability to live on its own. But when it comes to action there is nothing to compare with a cheetah flat out after prey at 60-70mph – or perhaps the titanic battle between a pride of lions and a bull buffalo."

"Angie uses the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM and the EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM – she loves to get in close and intimate without disturbing the big cats. She also loves the versatility of the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM – it can focus down to a metre and is pin-sharp with great Image Stabilisation. Angie uses the Extender EF 1.4x III with the 600mm at times – it is pin-sharp, and losing a stop of light does not matter because you can just increase the ISO if needs be. For the big lenses, Angie uses two video mounts that run on a track on a ledge on the 4x4 car."

You worked on the Big Cat Diary series from 1996 to 2008. How did your new series, Big Cat Tales, come about?

"We worked with director Abraham Joffe on his hugely popular series Tales by Light in 2016. He asked if we would be interested in working on a new TV series shot in the Maasai Mara. At first we said no – or at least we said we would think about it. We are both over 65 years old now. We will never stop working or being photographers, but we felt it was the natural moment for a break. However, we soon changed our minds. We knew from the popularity of Big Cat Diary that there was still a massive appetite for strong animal narratives focused on Africa's big cats. By partnering with Abe we could create a new series with great production values, combined with the strong storytelling which is our forte."

How did you divide up the jobs of presenting and shooting images?

"Both Angela and I were presenting, along with our Maasai friend Jackson ole Looseyia. It is so important that Kenyans feel connected to their wonderful wildlife heritage – not just for its economic benefits, but for the sheer glory of it and its aesthetic value, quite apart from its importance ecologically. So bringing Jackson on board was a real step up for the production in empowering Kenyans and letting them see they could aspire to do this kind of work. Angie doubled as production stills photographer and game spotter – she is so experienced that she was the perfect person to multi-task."

How has new technology changed the way your series was filmed?

"Camera technology has improved hugely during the 10 years since we last filmed a series such as this. The new series has a much more cinematic feel to it – more epic in style – and the use of drones to capture the landscape and the presenters' 'driving shots' makes the production look contemporary."

What Canon kit did you use for filming?

"Abe's team used EOS C300 Mark II cameras in each vehicle for the in-car presenter angle. The dynamic range, low light performance, 4K resolution and onboard XLR all made this camera a great choice. Interior glass mostly consisted of the EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM and also the EF 11-24mm f/4L USM for when we were in really tight places. We also used cinema lenses – the Canon CN-E 14mm T3.1 L F Cinema prime lens and CN-E 24mm T1.5 L F.

"For exterior shots, we used the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, as well as two superb cinema lenses: the CN-E 30-300mm T2.95-3.7 L SP PL mount Cinema Zoom and the CN20x50 IAS H E1/P1 Cine-servo lens."

Which was the best lens for filming wildlife action?

"The CN20x50 IAS H E1/P1, which has a focal length of 50-1000mm, was the most valuable asset in our lens lineup. Its unmatched focal range and pin-sharpness meant nothing was out of range for capture. This lens's amazing attributes enabled us to capture some incredible sequences with our big cats – most notably the cheetah chase scenes."

What, for you, were the highlights of making the series?

"For me personally, it was wonderful to be working on a new TV series. I love the process of filmmaking – of storytelling – and the sheer pleasure of being in the field for weeks at a time. That really allows one to embed oneself in the wilds and the individual nature of our big cats. For Angie, spending time with our old friends the Marsh Pride of lions was a highlight. We wanted the programmes to be outstanding visually and in terms of narration and were prepared to work from 5am to 8pm and beyond every day to ensure we succeeded. We also got tremendous help and encouragement from the Kenyan authorities – everyone got behind us and it just snowballed."