Dagga Boy

[Ken Watkins]

Cape Buffalo taken in Mokala Game Reserve (SA's newest and very good, it is well worth a visit), Northern Cape, South Africa, 16th December 2009.
The red mud is natural that is the colour of the earth.


EOS 1D MkIII

500mm F4 IS bean-bag

F7.1, ISO 400, 1/800, EV -1/3rd

[Harshad Barve]

Dagga boy looks good here , mud colors adding and compo works for me , wish for less harsh light but you handled situation very well here
TFS

[Steve Kaluski]

One mean looking guy here Ken, with great detail and character. Would agree with Harshad about the light and your handling of it. :)

Might perhaps go tighter as I feel there is not enough space for the virtual legs and add a bit more contrast. However, I may review this last point due to the fact that I am looking at this on the laptop rather than on'whopper';) Thanks Ken.

Steve

[David Fletcher]

Cracking details Ken. The light shows off the mud drying well on this Dagga male. Touch more contrast may give a nice boost. WD!

[DanWalters]

Really like the texture in the skin. Agree about this using a little more contrast. Do you have any verticals?

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Hi Ken,
Lovely animal. I would loved to slap a 1.4x on your 500. Initially I thought about increase in contrast, however, I think the fine dust is the culprit. What is the meaning of Dagga?

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Hi Ken,
Lovely animal. I would loved to slap a 1.4x on your 500. Initially I thought about increase in contrast, however, I think the fine dust is the culprit. What is the meaning of Dagga?

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Ken Watkins]

Hi Ken,
Lovely animal. I would loved to slap a 1.4x on your 500. Initially I thought about increase in contrast, however, I think the fine dust is the culprit. What is the meaning of Dagga?

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

I actually wanted the whole body, but failed as he came closer than initially expected.

Dagga has apparently three meanings
Mud
Crazy
Cannabis
I think the first two are more appropriate for this old boy!

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Ken Crop wise I'm fine since it is deliberate but keep thinking a vertical. Mud does enhance the image and gives it feel !! Agree on the contrast and would probably try adding some black and neutral in selective color, will make a difference with the bg and the animal will pop !! Mighty fine image !!

[Kiran Khanzode]

Built Ford Tough ! The dryness on the body really emphasizes the rough texture of the horns. I wonder how a vertical would look.

[Marc Mol]

Like this a lot Ken, the lighting and that red mud really enhance this.
As stated, only nit is a touch more contrast for mine, crop is fine for me as is.

[D. Robert Franz]

Impressive looking beast. Light handled well. A bit of a contrast boost for me as well. Comp works but might have prefered a verticle.

[John Ippolito]

Impressive buffalo and image, Ken. The old boy looks so crusty and dusty, I can almost smell him. Great character captured in tough light.

[David Fletcher]

Hi Ken,
Lovely animal. I would loved to slap a 1.4x on your 500. Initially I thought about increase in contrast, however, I think the fine dust is the culprit. What is the meaning of Dagga?

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

Sabyasachi, Dagga is the Zulu word for MUD and is a reference to older bulls need for mud bathing to ward off biting insects and flies as they lose hair in their old age.