Trio of Tuskers

[Morkel Erasmus]

I hope you all had a great Christmas time with your loved ones.
And here's to a magnificent 2014 for you in all aspects of life - especially photographically!! :5 :cheers:

This photo shows a big old bull and his two "askari" on the plains of the Mara Triangle at sunset after a massive storm. Older bulls gather younger bulls to them to impart to them the knowhow of being a stately elder of the elephant community, while relying on the young guns for protection and to be the old timer's eyes and ears. The term for these "cohorts" is ASKARI (which refers to the colonial term for local guards/gendarmes).


Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II @ 105mm
f5.6 | 1/250 SS | ISO-500
I used the grad filter tool in LR to get the sky and foreground exposure balanced (love the dynamic range of the D800 files!) - then did some further tweak

[Martin Dunn]

Morkel, there are bits about this photo that I really like but overall I feel that it is not as striking or as strong as most of your other posts.
I love the looming grey clouds above a bright horizon, so typically Kenyan, but for me your ellies are a bit dark and at the post size it is difficult to pick out much detail. I would alse prefer a bit more space on left and right to give more of a sense of the surroundings.

Hope you enjoyed a good Christmas break and that 2014 is a great year for you.

[Rachel Hollander]

Morkel - Happy New Year to you and your family! May you have more fantastic photo opportunities in 2014.

I really like the layers of color here and the detail in the sky. I also wish you had zoomed out a bit to give more room, particularly to the left.

TFS,
Rachel

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks Martin and Rachel. Didn't want to lighten the ele's too much as it would look fake to me then...make sense?
Rachel - I actually cropped some off the LHS due to a clump of cloud and a BG tree that drew the eye somewhat...:e3 (and likewise the same wishes for both of you in 2014!)

[Gabriela Plesea]

Don't know what I like more, the ellies or that heavy sky above them:w3

Love the atmosphere you captured here, the mood. And I look forward to marvel at your future posts Morkel, a Very Happy New year to You and Family, warmest wishes for 2014, thank you for your friendship and of course, for bringing me into the BPN family:5

Kind regards,

[Loi Nguyen]

Morkel, this is really a fabulous image that shows the beautiful multi-color sky and the Elephants. For me, this is an image of Kenya as seen with your naked eyes so the elephants a little dark is the right scene. Happy new year to you too! Loi

[Marc Mol]

A typical Mara scape, well depicted Morkel, shame about the room on left and understand the need to crop that way, you might be able to tweak some more detail from the darker clouds if so inclined?
Wishing eveyone here also a wonderful 2014!:cheers:
TFS

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Morkel,
i personally would treat it differently .
By knowing your style ? i am fine with it, think it reflects the mood in this situation quite nicely.looking VERY natural to me, well done.

Like the colors , specially in the sky.I would also like to see a tad more room on RHS , too tight the elephant to the corner.

Have great New Years Eve and a good and healthy 2014, say hi to your family from a unknown member called Andreas

TFS Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Morkel, like the mood and setting on this one, a very 'gentle' image.

Wonder if the clouds have been push just a tad too much, watch the magenta creeping in, but it does convey the approaching storm. Have a look at dropping the Magenta also in the yellow of the grass, might just lift it a bit?

Hope you have a good 2014. :cheers:

TFS
Steve

[hennieloots]

Hi Morkel - I like to colors is the sky with the transition from the soft colors on the horizon to darker clouds above. Love the mood and the open spaces this image portrays. I would have liked to see more details on the ellies, but your point taken.
All the best wishes for 2014 and looking forward to more of your posts.
Cheers
Hennie

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Morkel,

Happy New Year to you and your family as well.

I like the image very much. The clouds look great. I agree with Rachel on a bit more room on the left.
Have a great eve

Ciao
Anette

[edwardselfe]

Nice image - sorry just catching up. I would lighten some parts of the eles with a dodge brush just to give them a bit more definition. Agree that lightening them too much would make them fake but perhaps a little careful selective dodging might just be enough.
Ed