Lioness in B&W

I really love taking photos of animals and would love to try wildlife photography one day. It's amazing to see animals happy in their natural environment. For now, however, to capture photos of animals like lions, tigers or eagles I have to visit local Zoo. Is it the same? Definitely not (in fact it's rather sad to see those majestic species closed in a cage for instace), but as one of my favourite wild-life photographers, Ashley Vincent, says photographing animals is a lot about capturing their character and personality. Here's the quote:

"What I attempt to capture in my images is something of my subject's character and personality, as I believe it is these sort of engaging images that will have others feeling more of a connection with each individual subject, and perhaps for some people that connection will raise their levels of compassion enough to act on feelings that may eventually play some part in protecting and conserving the most vulnerable of Mother Nature's gifts."

Technical details:
Camera: Canon 5D MK II
Lens: Canon 70-300 f/4-5.6 L IS USM
Focal length: 300 mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure time: 1/400 s
ISO: 100
Number of exposures: 1
E.V. Step: n/a
Flash used: no
Tripod: no
Filters: no
Software: Magic Lantern 2.3, Lightroom 4.2, Photoshop CS