Boy at play ...

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi all .... yes cam still alive
Sorry again for being not very active here for a longer while , this time i was on a trip to Namibia !!!
I had a great time with lots of sightings in Etosha , even if being jammed with tourists .... kind of annoying at times !!!! Specially the big camping trucks with these organised trips ..... I did also visit the Seal colony on the Skeleton Coast at Cape Cross , just for one day , then kept on going to the Namib Desert to visit Soussusvlei . Man that was full .....of humans , unbelievable , been there 15 years ago , had changed not for the better IMHO !!!!!
Will not return to that place ..... some folks , who i met there , stated ...... no more atmosphere .... due to the mass of humans , i agreed !!!!
But back to Etosha .... great time from the pure sightings POV , and first time visiting the western part ..... that was different on all counts , no cars , good sightings and a different landscape compared to the Etosha that i was used to .
Funny was the fact , that the photograph was different , as in the western part the animals just concentrated at the waterhole , which was not that much the case in the eastern /central part .
In the end i had a good time in both areas , but really enjoyed the peace in the western section !!!!!!!!

Long typing here you go , this little boy was playing with it´s trunk while the rest of the herd was busy drinking ...hope you like it .

Canon EOS 1 Dx II
EF 500 IS L II + 1,4 TC
Beanbag

F 8 ; ISO 2500 ; 1/2000 sec ; overcast day ; man exp and Auto Iso

Processed with DPP 4 and PSCC 2019 ; cropped to 70 % of FF

Hope you like it ...cheers Andreas

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Andreas, and a warm welcome back Boetie

Indeed it has been a while and I was beginning to wonder whether you'll ever return Glad all went well and that you had a good trip overall, albeit the "exodus" you are referring to in your intro is quite concerning. Recently I have been wondering if I should go see Etosha before it gets too busy, well it is probably too late...

This is a fun image and I love the cute pose from your little ele! The species is always so entertaining, and especially when close to the water - I guess this small one quenched his thirst and then it was time to play! Super timing Andreas and great techs.

Colours look good/natural and there's nice detail where needed, subject well separated from the BG. I just feel the image needs a tad of rotation? I know you pay attention to detail when you process so I suppose you either tilted intentionally for a more interesting composition, or maybe things were just like that. I personally prefer straight, levelled lines - I guess a matter of visual balance

Cannot wait to see what other sightings you had, so I'll be keeping an eye for your next posts. Really glad you are back and posting. I also enjoyed reading your comments on other members' images, so kind of you to give your thoughts on so many

Kind regards,

[haseeb badar]

HI Andreas -- Always great to have you posting here on the wildlife forum. And I am very eager to see your images from the recent trip .

I liked the pose and the moment. The subject is very nicely separated from bkg and nice pov as well. Techs look good and you have those details there coming out so nicely. If I have to nit pick then it will be those white stones in the bkg, especially the one right beneath the face and ear. Overall a fine image.

TFS !

[Jonathan Ashton]

Andreas it is a gem, I think you did a brilliant job of getting the tip of the trunk in focus, not an easy thing to do I suspect.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Gabriela , Jon and Haseeb for your kind comments , much appreciated .

Haseeb - sadly nothing i could do about the white stones ...LOL ...as Etosha is full of them , and can be a pain in the ..... at times !!!

Gabriela - will try to be more present , bring back some life to the forum . Regarding the level of the image , well the BG is a bit uneven at that waterhole so i left it that way , but understand your vision !!! Regarding visiting Etosha , well i might have picked the wrong time ( Easter ) . Anette was there 4 weeks before i arrived , and she was not that much complaining about the mass of visitors and at least the western part was great in terms of people .....very very few !!!!

Thanks again .... Andreas

[Gabriela Plesea]

Yes Andreas, bring some life in here Boetie

Easter not a good time I think... Must be the school holidays. So maybe there's still hope for me to find some peace and quiet around there at different times of the year

Kind regards,

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Andreas, this is a super cute elephant with great pose and the raised trunk and open mouth. Nice BG and the white stones in BG isn't much of a bother.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Sanjeev for your comment .....

[John Mack]

Very nice. Great view of this little one. Like the flared up trunk. The point of view looks spot on. Nice detail as well.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks John for your comment ...cheers Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Nice encounter Andreas, don't often see Elephant calf's much. Perhaps a small CW rotation.

TFS
Steve

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Steve ... it was a nice encounter indeed , a better one will follow the other day from the same time and location , at least for me . Had a lot of luck to see at least loads of calves on this trip , Halali Camp around noon was very busy with mother herds of elephants . Not ideal for photography as you were shooting down and you can imagine what kind of lighting was present around noon !!! At least it was fun to watch .

I think the BG creates the illusion of needing a rotation .

Cheers Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

I think the BG creates the illusion of needing a rotation .

It probably does Andreas, but for me, if the eye picks up then it's worth a try irrespective of whether it needs it or not as I feel it's all about how our brain & eyes 'interpret' the scene.