Cape Buffalo Calf

[Morkel Erasmus]

I was preparing some images for submission to my licensing agency when I came across this one from a trip to Singita in the Sabi Sands back in March 2012.
This guy was still pretty young, but you can see the "nubs" beginning to come out. They look so much like cattle at this age.
Early morning in overcast conditions.

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f7.1 | 1/400 SS | ISO-2500
Cropped 5% off the bottom to remove irritating grass stems, then cropped slightly from the sides and top to balance comp out.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Awesome detail, sharpness and BG Morkel, I think the open mouth, with tongue showing really takes this up a notch. And those little horns just showing is cool. Nicely done.

[Carl Walker]

I think this is great. Colors and tones look good to me and soft BG sets it off. Looks like it's just had a feed from mom. TFS Morkel

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

I just love the detail in this, Morkel. The hair on the lips, the stubs on the inside of the mouth. The clear eyes. It looks like he's had a comb-over! The soft BG highligts the animal very nicely - well done on a simple but beautiful scene!

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Morkel - Compare this image to Steve C's image of the bison calf and they look really similar. The comp works great here and the open mouth really takes this up a notch. The image feels a little flat and does not have an embedded color profile. Even after assigning one I would still add just a little more punch in the midtones. Personal preference, of course, though.

TFS,
Rachel

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks folks.
Oops, Rachel - see how easily it happens....
Profile embedded and midtone contrast added in RP

[Steve Canuel]

Cute little calf, don't recall ever seeing one so young. Nice BG, detail, and soft light.