Laurent Baheux's most beautiful artistic encounter occurred with lions. Fascinated by their imposing allure and serenity, the artist has succeeded in revealing their power and elegance through photography. Unlike the hostility and fear that the appearance of these felines often provokes, to Baheux, they only bring joy and a feeling of peace. At a reasonable distance, the lions allow him to approach and photograph them. Captured in an isolated way within their natural environment, they even appear to be posing in these shots.Shot frontally and in close up, Laurent Baheux's portraits in black and white are different from the norms of animal photography as they are more reminiscent of the grand tradition of photographic portraiture. The artist deliberately highlights the lions' character traits, as well as the intensity of their gazes and the majesty of their postures, magnified by a surprising play of light and shade.

**The artist: Laurent Baheux**

Laurent Baheux was attracted to journalism and editing at first, rapidly discovering a passion for photography and becoming a self-taught photographer. His devoted practice and his knowledge of the sporting world opened the doors to the top press photography agencies. From then on, he covered the main international competitions and channelled his energy towards conditions of speed and extreme demand. He has always been fascinated by Africa. From 2002, during a visit to Tanzania, he began private work on the wild fauna, its beauty, strength, roughness and great fragility. He chose black and white, with its play on shadow, light and contrast, to immortalise rare and ephemeral scenes of nature, constantly trying to sublimate the animals, to capture the magnificence of their attitudes, the emotion of their look? Through this authentic quest, Laurent wants to show the vividness of these species which are still alive, but more menaced than ever, and the immense richness that they represent for the planet. In the continuity of his photographic commitment, he accompanies and supports the deeds of organisations which work for the protection of nature and the preservation of biodiversity. He is also the author of Land of lions, a sensitive and moving work in black and white, like an ode to wild life...