Picnic at sunset

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

Spent the weekend at Mabalingwe (South Africa) and were lucky to bump into this scene at one of the water holes at sunset. What followed was the most beautiful 45 minutes I have ever experienced. Big daddy and one of the moms at the water side behaving like grown-ups, the children in the background kicking and throwing up dust to such a degree that I've battled afterwards to bring sharpness back into some of the pics. The bull (one of the biggest I have ever seen - and I've seen plenty!) was in musth and used this opportunity to get really close to his girl, sometimes leaning heavily into her. She obliged by leaning heavily back into him at times and were rewarded with clean water entering the dam from this spot. I took away us much as possible at the bottom & top in order to try and portrait something about the humongous size of the bull, but a pic will never really achieve that!

Sharpening & curves in LR.

D600
Nikkor 70-200mm VRI f2.8 @ 120mm
f/4 | 1/400s | ISO-800

[Loi Nguyen]

Tobie, had you not said, I'd never have guessed this is a captive scene. Sweet light and really lovely interactions. Your SS helps conveys motion of the young elies. Well done. Loi

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

Thanks Loi. It's 'Captive' in the sense that it's in one of our bigger 'small' reserves (120 sq km) so although they're not 'caged' I assume that under the rules of the forum, it's a 'Captive' scene.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Tobie - Tender moment captured between the adults but I really like the seemingly frenetic activity of the youngsters behind. Do you have images showing more of that activity? Not sure if these are considered captive under forum rules but would need to know more about the reserve and its practices.


TFS,
Rachel

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

Hi Tobie - Tender moment captured between the adults but I really like the seemingly frenetic activity of the youngsters behind. Do you have images showing more of that activity? Not sure if these are considered captive under forum rules but would need to know more about the reserve and its practices. TFS, Rachel
Yes Rachel I do have pics showing a little more of the youngsters' activity. I'll place two or three of them in the next few days since you're interested. I don't want to place too many of them as they are similar in nature and I don't want to bore anyone.

Mabalingwe means 'Home of the black spotted leopard'. It houses the big 5 amongst 31 other animal species. All animals are free to roam wherever they like, except for the lions - they're kept in a seperate encampment and do not hunt for themselves. Chalets are spread in groups right through the reserve in such a way that you still enjoy privacy. You can walk around in the vicinity of the chalets but you need to do it with caution in some areas. In 1991 a woman was killed by a Rhino whilst walking her dog (dogs are not allowed in the reserve). I guess the dog probably started barking at the hippo and things just went wrong from there.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Tobie, I really like this, it's a fun image and different from the norm. There is a lot to take in and I have viewed it a few times to try and take in all the action. Techs look good and I really like the dust and antics of the elephants. Personally I think a little more USM on the main elephant and the head of the RH one wouldn't hurt.

I too agree, I think this doesn't fit the Captive arena, these are free to roam without any help from man on a daily basis, yes?

TFS
Steve

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

Hi Tobie, I really like this, it's a fun image and different from the norm. There is a lot to take in and I have viewed it a few times to try and take in all the action. Techs look good and I really like the dust and antics of the elephants. Personally I think a little more USM on the main elephant and the head of the RH one wouldn't hurt.

I too agree, I think this doesn't fit the Captive arena, these are free to roam without any help from man on a daily basis, yes?

TFS
Steve
Steve, thanks for your comment. Yep, there was a lot going on at any given moment and we've had a lot of fun watching them for an hour or so!

Yes they're roaming totally free together with the other animals (excluding the lions). I've used the same logic we've debated a while ago following my buffalo photo (where 'Captured' was deemed suitable). The only difference between that reserve and this one is that this one is much bigger and the non-lion carnivores roam free as well. You guys are most welcome to remove 'Theme' and '(C)' from the title - it's really not that important to me! :S3:

(PS: I have not seen the term 'USM' before - what is it? :bugeyed:)

[Steve Kaluski]

(PS: I have not seen the term 'USM' before - what is it?)

USM - Unsharp Mask, it's in PS, and this is what I use when sharpening my images.:S3:

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

USM - Unsharp Mask, it's in PS, and this is what I use when sharpening my images.:S3:

Thanks Steve - something 'new' for me to check out! :5

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=140721&d=1399400170

Thanks Steve - something 'new' for me to check out! :5
USM applied, Steve. I don't want to overdo it so the changes are subtle. WDYT?

[Morkel Erasmus]

Tobie - lovely scene indeed with the dust and late light and poses.
I wish that brick structure wasn't in there, but assume it's a man-made waterhole in Mabalingwe?
Re the captive discussion - no these would be free-roaming. As far as I know, Mabalingwe's lions are also in a separate enclosure? But these elephants are free and wild no doubt about it.
I also wish that branch top left wasn't there - not much you can do...however were you able to position to the left a bit more to eliminate it from the frame?

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

Tobie - lovely scene indeed with the dust and late light and poses.
I wish that brick structure wasn't in there, but assume it's a man-made waterhole in Mabalingwe?
Re the captive discussion - no these would be free-roaming. As far as I know, Mabalingwe's lions are also in a separate enclosure? But these elephants are free and wild no doubt about it.
I also wish that branch top left wasn't there - not much you can do...however were you able to position to the left a bit more to eliminate it from the frame?
Morkel, thanks for your comments.

I think the brick structure probably houses an auto valve for letting water into the dam (where the ele's are drinking). I was not too fuzzed about it since the original idea was to enter this under 'Captured' where a man made object would not be the end of the world. I've tried to use PS' Fill / Dissolve to remove it but PS does not do too well with it so if I ever wanted to do more with this pic I'll have to resort to a manual cloning process.

I'm not sure which branch on the top left you're referring to? If you actually meant 'top right' - yea, it was a real frustration as the cow moved back and forth all the time and in some of my pics I've got great interaction by the youngsters where she is fully blocked by the tree so I'll never be able to use them. I've started off more to the right, then moved into this position. Unfortunately I could not move into a better position without obscuring some of the other viewers' views and I could not afford getting into a fist fight - too much to photograph! :w3

[Morkel Erasmus]

yeah - on the right...it was late at night :bg3:

[Neil Burton]

A wonderful scene, how often do we actually sit and appreciate instead of clicking away? Must have serene, and the light is wonderful too.

I tend too to lean towards sharpening in PS as I have not found a perfect setting in LR, LR sharpening is a bit odd i find.

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

I tend too to lean towards sharpening in PS as I have not found a perfect setting in LR, LR sharpening is a bit odd i find.

Agreed. For serious sharpening LR is not even closely in PS' league. I've started using PS' Unsharp Mask after Steve made me aware of it a couple of days ago and I must say it's a magic tool!