Giraffe Portrait

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello friends,

I am sharing a simple Giraffe portrait tonight, and as usual a little information about my subject. You might like to know the species weighs about 1200kg (males) and 800kg (females). Life span is about 28 years and gestation 15 months, err...just one baby at a time

Giraffe feed mainly on leaves and flowers and twigs, but also fruit. They need water regularly and I am told they drink about 40 L per day. Interesting that the tongue is quite long, about 45 cm, and covered with horny papillae for protection against the thorns of Acacia trees. Their lips also have papillae for the same reason.

They always give birth standing up, meaning the baby has to fall about 2 m to the ground...Ouch.

Most people believe the species is voiceless, which isn't true: they occasionally grunt, snort, bleat, and even make flute-like noises

I love giraffe and enjoy watching them for hours but for some reason they have never been high on my list in terms of photography. Nevertheless here's one image, taken on a cloudy day at lunch time in Zuka Private Game Reserve. I happened to be driving on the edge of a little dam and she was close by, I liked the POV and clean BG. This is FF by the way.

PS. Not sure it's sharp enough, please let me know. I sent away my only decent pair of reading glasses to be repaired and struggling a bit

Techs:

Nikon D850
Nikon 500mm F4
ISO 1000
F7.1
1/500s ( she was pretty still so I took a chance, I do have other frames at higher SS taken afterwards)

Thank you so much for viewing and for comments on my previous images, I really appreciate it. Hope you do not find this too boring...

[John Mack]

Glad to see one of your images being posted. The pose on the giraffe is nice. The vertical framing works very well. That background is great. Looks very sharp to me. Details look very nice as well. Hope to see some more of your grear work.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gabriela, what I like about the image is that you have a great backdrop, but the key element for me is that you feel at eye level, not shooting up and that makes the image for me. Framing works, it's clean, unfussy and a nice capture. Techs also worked and shooting with the 500 has given that lovely compressed bokeh. Personal choice, you could add some Vib/Sat, Clarity/Dehaze, but small amounts, this time going a bit positive for Dehaze. You could afford some more USM, but it's not critical, I'll pop a version over.

Nice to see something different.

TFS
Steve

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you so much dear John and Steve,

Here is an RP based on Steve's suggestions and email

Hope this looks better, many thanks for your help, Steve

Kind regards,

[Steve Kaluski]

Looks better Gabriela.

BTW packing and heading north again tomorrow.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you very much Steve,
Travel safely, Wol is waiting for you

[Alex Becker]

Great pose and BG, and as mentioned, perspective. The RP adds to me with the extra pop. Details look good. Good framing as well. No nits from me. TFS

[greg cowle]

Nice portrait with a great background. The giraffe looks old. I remember reading that the males grow a lump on the forehead as they age, but you say this is a female?

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you so much Alex and Greg,

Judging by the horns I am quite certain this is a female, Greg. Males have bigger horns which they sometimes use for sparring, and this causes them to wear off a bit - the result is less hair and a "flatter" look. And you are right about the lumps, old males develop additional outgrowths on the forehead and sometimes behind the ears too.

Just some extra info, the horns of the giraffe ( also called ossicones ) are quite unique in the sense that they are present at birth and even at the embryo stage. They are made up of cartilage of skin origin and at first not attached to the skull. At birth they are very soft and lie against the skull, only after a few days they begin to stand erect! Interesting that fusion with the skull only takes place after about four years in males and seven years in females

Kind regards,

[Jonathan Ashton]

Repost - Gabriella - much better, much prefer it the original was a little flat.
500mm lens presumably on a bean bag/some support, image stabiliser, subject "still" (?camera still?") = what should be a sharp image I would say, does the raw at 100% look sharp that is the test.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Jon

Nice to hear from you again, and thank you so much for your thoughts! Will only be able to tell if it's sharp when I get my reading glasses from the optometrist For now a bit of guesswork, I'm afraid. Cmd+ on my keyboard helps with the text, LOL.

Yes I think I had the bean bag on the window at the time. Giraffe was still and allowed me to take a number of images at various camera settings, just thought the HA was better here.

And Jon...I am off to Kruger Park in September, camping

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Gabriela, I like the simple, clean and neat image design. I feel the Giraffes are difficult to photograph due to the size and height. Getting the eye illuminated is even tougher. You did well with he composition and the RP is better. Agree that one more round of USM will help. TFS.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Hello Jon

Nice to hear from you again, and thank you so much for your thoughts! Will only be able to tell if it's sharp when I get my reading glasses from the optometrist For now a bit of guesswork, I'm afraid. Cmd+ on my keyboard helps with the text, LOL.

Yes I think I had the bean bag on the window at the time. Giraffe was still and allowed me to take a number of images at various camera settings, just thought the HA was better here.

And Jon...I am off to Kruger Park in September, camping

That sounds like fun to me I hope you have a super time,I am sure you will. I went camping in Masai Mara and Samburu and Rift vallley in 1990, I can still remember that first night, zebras were braying hyenas were calling and a lion was roaring, it was music to my ears - kept me awake for some time but I was fascinated trying to visualise what was happening in the darkness.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Many thanks Sanjeev and Jon,

Jon, I cannot wait to go camping again. It's not Masai Mara... but it will do for now:) I have friends in Kruger at the moment sending me small videos of hyena and eles and lions and leopards with cubs - I am green with jealousy

[haseeb badar]

Hi Gabriela -- Again pretty late on this but I really like the almost eye level view and framing. Very nice IQ and your RP is even better. I really enjoyed viewing these enormous creatures when i was in Africa but somehow they dont provide too many opportunities or I guess we are always after the Cats, but I love seeing a Giraffe .

Very nice image.

TFS !

[Gabriela Plesea]

You are never too late Haseeb, I really appreciate you taking the time to view and those kind words