Playtime

[Rachel Hollander]

I thought I would post another image of some of the elephant calves I saw on my recent trip. These two still have their tails but were part of a group of 4 small calves that were extremely playful when the different families/herds came together in the riverbed. The two adolescents in the bg seemed to come over to separate the youngsters and help them up out of the hole. I liked the flying sand and the wild eyes of the pinned calf on this one.

Canon 7D2
300 II
1/800
f9
ISO 800
Monopod from safari vehicle, slight crop for comp, levels, curves, color adjustments, sharpened in PSCC.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Jay Shah]

Hi Rachel, this is insanely cute. Is the little one on the ground looking at the other one? Yes sand gives it so much dynamism and makes image jump at you. Parents expression are also so communicative. I showed this to my daughter and see also loved the image. TFS.

[haseeb badar]

Hi Rachel -- What a moment to witness and capture . I liked the wild eye of the one under attack and the the flying sand. I also liked the inclusion of adults here as they too are an important part of this image and the story that it conveys. That ele in the bkg is a bit unfortunate but nothing you could have done abt it.

Very nice details and i liked the colours as well. i feel you should have opted for a higher ss here but nice choice for DOF. All in all a really nice story telling image which I really enjoyed viewing it. TFS !

[John Mack]

Playtime for sure. I think the one on the left is winning and the right one has had enough. Nice action.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel, always nice to see baby elephants engaging in playful antics, just makes you feel like being a kid again.

Light looks harsh based on the posting and so I think you could have balanced things more in the FG so theres less difference within the PP. Personally I feel you would have been better with the 5D3 with the 100-400, you would have still had the reach, but not cropped the top of the ears on the adolescents. In addition you could have easily upped the ISO for a faster SS to freeze the action and flying mud and probably where Haseeb was thinking without hurting the IQ.

TFS
Steve

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Rachel ...oh well these guys are so cute at that stage in life , and always a great pleasure to watch .
I do agree that light does look harsh , you controlled it well i think with details allover the place . Personally i would keep the contrast higher , as some of the shadows are looking a tiny bit too lifted IMHO. But this is for sure just my thinking ....must not be yours for somebody elses.
Lovely warm colors .....
Well timed shot ...not much you can do about the elephants behind them and in the BG .
Nice one in terms of kids action .... love that one eye of the lying elephant .

TFS Andreas

[Basil Dardagan]

A fantastic moment that is sure to make everybody smile !! I agree that the light was harsh and have always found photographing playing elephant calves challenging due to larger ellies standing around them and all the difficulties that creates with shadows and framing

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks everybody. Yes, this was at the end of the morning drive and delayed us getting back to the lodge so the light was already a bit strong.

Thanks again,
Rachel