Uncle Whitey

[Morkel Erasmus]

I can't keep posting animalscapes when the theme is portraits, eh!

A closer look at one of the intriguing elephant bulls I got to spend time with up close in Etosha.
White from the clay and dust he used to groom himself during the day, the golden afternoon light hit him perfectly.
I wish the thorn branch wasn't there, but that's what he was feeding on and honestly I didn't really notice this specific branch in the viewfinder at the time.

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II @ 125mm
f14 | 1/800 SS | ISO-560
(aperture chosen for good DOF, I was really close to him, image is 95% of original cropped to taste)

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Morkel ... oh the Uncle does look stunning ..
Lovely comp , color , tone and details !!!
I really like the textures created by the hide , light and dust/clay and you brought them out nicely . The twig is a bit unfortunate , but not really a deal breaker .Gotta love this place ......need to go back one day .
As a personal thought i might reduce the blacks a fraction ....just a bit .
Nice work Morkel .... TFS Andreas

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Morkel - This all comes together nicely. Good light, excellent choice on the dof to have head through tusks sharp. As Andreas said, you have really brought out the textures well. This works for me.

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Morkel, nice light & texture, good call on the DoF.

TFS
Steve

[haseeb badar]

Hi Morkel -- Yes the branch is a bit unfortunate but the image in whole works for me. Lovely details and textures and well framed .

TFS !

[Marc Mol]

Loving the detail and side lighting here Morkel, good call re, f/14, the acacia thorn is unfortunate and yet tells the story.

TFS


FYI:
Just picked up the new 70-200E, and whilst it's high price tag wasn't appreciated, the AF and VR is simply amazing and a marked improvement on the already good G model.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks for the comments, friends :)
glad you liked this one