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The Charmer


The Charmer
Photo Information
Copyright: Loot Eksteen (loot) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5652 W: 595 N: 3349] (8909)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-05-13
Categories: Mammals, Savannah
Camera: Cannon EOS 350D, Sigma 170-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO Ultra DG, Digital ISO 100, UV 86mm Kenko
Exposure: f/6.3, 1/250 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Mammals of Southern Africa, 60 - 69 Points (Chapter 2), Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park animals 1, A study in Mammalogy, 80 points or more, Mammals of Africa, !!! STOLEN PHOTOS !!! I [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2006-05-18 18:39
Viewed: 2133
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 82
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
White rhino - Ceratotherium simum

Photographed at the Madlozi area, of the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park. This rhino bull was turning on his charms to impress a lovely lady, but there was a problem. She still had a juvenile, ±1˝ years of age, with her. This means that she will not tolerate the bull too close to her and the calf out of fear that he might do something drastic to the calf. It is a known fact that male bulls could or would kill a young calf to free the cow from her duties just so that she could mate again. However, this cow knew her moves and she took well care of her offspring. The poor bull was cancelled 10-love as she gunned for him every time he came close.

Although the bull is much larger that the female there is hardly much hope for him to make any inroads as a mother who is protecting her young are pretty much charged up and instinct overcomes all sense of fear. I can just assure you, it is an impressive sight to see when these heavy weights tackle one another. You can feel the earth move or vibrate.

I will provide complete details of the white rhino in some future posting, but for now I am sharing some titbit snacks only.

Cool facts about Rhinos
- White rhinos are one of the five species of rhinoceros that still exists and is one of the few mega herbivore species left.
- The name White Rhino originated in South Africa where the Afrikaans language developed from the Dutch language. The term "White" actually comes from the Dutch word "weit" meaning "wide", and in Afrikaans the word became "wit", meaning "white".
- Next to the elephant, the white rhino is the largest land mammal and can weigh up to 3.6 metric tons.
- The White Rhinoceros has a noticeable hump on the back of its neck which supports its large head.
- Like the Black Rhino, the White Rhino is under threat from habitat loss and poaching, most recently by an offshoot of the janjaweed.
- By 1895, the white rhinoceros was considered extinct throughout its African range; however there was a small population of ±50 animals that was still living in the Umfolozi region of South Africa.
- Several rhinoceros species became extinct within geologically recent times, notably the Giant Unicorn and the Woolly Rhinoceros in Eurasia: the extent to which climate change or human predation was responsible is debated.
- White rhinos roam in grasslands and savannahs that have plenty of trees, water and mud wallows.
- White rhinos graze mainly on grass, but also drink almost on a daily basis, although they can survive up to four days when water is unavailable.
- The White Rhino is visibly different from the Black Rhinoceros not in its skin colour which is quite similar to that of the Black Rhino, but because of the shape of its mouth - it is wide, for cropping large swaths of grass, while the Black Rhino's mouth has a pointed, prehensile lip. Source.

Post Processing was done with Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0.
lovenature, Scott, scottevers7, timonejoon, rsiliato, TAZ, thor68, manyee, kazan, SunToucher, marhowie, SkyF, soccer, Evelynn, jeanpaul, peter_stoeckl, firelord, elefantino, coasties, jmp, ramthakur, metcher, klemmg, wuta, red45, Pictures_Collec, Roynsam, Dyker, Leace, Miss_Piggy, betsie has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To elefantino: Thanksloot 1 05-28 15:28
To wuta: De neushoorn bezoekenloot 1 05-27 01:47
To thistle: PP issues raisedloot 5 05-27 01:21
To Zeno: 170-500mm Sigma lensloot 1 05-27 00:32
To aido: Thanks for Adviceloot 1 05-27 00:13
To pilonm: Thanksloot 1 05-19 23:04
To Evelynn: Fore-& backgroundloot 1 05-19 22:59
To Scott: Dit is lekkerloot 6 05-19 15:45
To chiliu: Surprise surpriseloot 1 05-18 19:39
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi Loot, Your notes on the Rhino are very interesting. I love this website! Your colours and focus are wonderful. What a beautiful beast.
Janice

  • Great 
  • Scott Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 212 W: 0 N: 291] (1382)
  • [2006-05-18 19:01]
  • [+]

Loot, what a nice shot, focused and clear, great DOF, amazing site , dit is lekker can I vote 4 or 5 for this one?

Hi Loot,
An excellent shot on this White Rhinoceros. I am very envious. I would love to see such a sight in person instead of my television. An amzing animal. You have captured him very well! Exposure looks excellent. I love that you can see his environment around him. AWESOME!!
Scott

Hi Loot,
Fantastic capture of this great wildlife image! Excellent POV, good colours and well composed.
Very well done and thanks for sharing!

Hi Loot

Wonderfull shot, with intresting details. i like it. specialy the birds and colors, well composition and great details.
well done

TFS
regards
timone

Loot,
Another great shot of a magnificent animal!
Great job!
TFS,
Bob

  • Great 
  • TAZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2395 W: 50 N: 3190] (10896)
  • [2006-05-19 1:36]

Wow ! What an impressive Rhino that you have very well captured ! I like the warm colors and the good sharpness. The birds on it are a nice bonus. I also appreciate the complementary note. Congratulations my friend and thanks for sharing.

he don´t look very white, bro. *g*
must have taken a nice juicy mudbath.
excellent clear shot, loot, just fits in the
frame the big one.
lucky you to have them running around "free",
i only see some poor caged ones in the zoos.
wonderful natural composition with the 2
rhino-back-riders on top.
well done & take care, thor.

  • Great 
  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3061 W: 231 N: 5811] (19544)
  • [2006-05-19 2:12]

An impressive fellow you have there, Loot.
A very fine specimen indeed, all the more special because of his rarity. You captured him in all his natural glory, with mud caked on his flanks and ox-peckers on his back. The fine details expose the rough texture of his skin, and the light on him is just perfect.
An excellent POV of this megabeast that shows off his awesome power. Thank you for sharing another one of those rare gems of nature. Congratulations, my friend. : )

  • Great 
  • kazan Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 37 W: 0 N: 36] (158)
  • [2006-05-19 4:03]

Loot, that's a classic and you have captured it well. DoF and details on subject are great. Also, your note proves what TN is all about ;-)
Thanks for sharing!
Panos

Hi Loot,
I had no idea that we, Dutch, came up with the name for this Rino. But it actually does make sence to call it the "Wijde Neushoorn" Nowadays, 'weit' is spelled as 'wijd'

This is a beautiful photo especially since it shows the habitat of the Rhino clearly. It gives us a very good impression where they live and where you spend your weekends. What is the name of the birds that are on the Rhino? Do they eat the parasites of the rhino?

Tech talk: Excellent color, sharpness and POV. The DOF is super with your low POV and the bushes in the f/g

Thanks,
Niek

  • Great 
  • Zeno Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 477 W: 0 N: 925] (7961)
  • [2006-05-19 4:36]
  • [+]

Hi Loot,

This is an impressing rhino. The light and the colors in this photo are wonderful. I also like the oxpeckers on his back.
I noticed that you are using the same lens as I do. What are yoor thoughts about this sigma lens?

regards,

Zeno.

Hello Loot,
Wonderful capture. Your "charmer" looks excellent, and it's very well isolated in the frame..Exposure, sharpness, detail, composition, POV, all very good as well.
The hitchhikers add good interest also..
Very well done and have a Great Weekend!

  • Great 
  • SkyF Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2390 W: 194 N: 1991] (8113)
  • [2006-05-19 7:55]

Hi Loot,
this must be quite something to shoot such an animal in it's natural enviroment. Excellent POV and great exposure. Interesting details and great note.
TFS..Sky

Very good colour and detail - nice shot!

Hi Loot,
As always a superb note accompaning your picture!! The lighting and composition is excellent, No nits :-)
In india we have rinos, but they skin covering looks like a cloth!!
see here : http://www.thewildones.org/Conflict/rhino.html
TFS
Goutham

  • Great 
  • soccer Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 508 W: 0 N: 491] (1717)
  • [2006-05-19 13:56]

Loot,

Great Composition and detail shown of the subject. Keep up the good work. TFS,
Sheriff

Hello Loot,

Here is an impressive picture of a white rhinoceros! We feel all the strength contained within this huge animal and I feel respect to him! Composition, pov, quality of details the nice blurry bg and the presence of these 2 birds on it make this picture a great one!!! Congratulations and I add you as one of my favorite photograph!!! TFS!!

Michel

Hello Loot,

So how far away were you from this fellow? Hmmm...close enough to feel the earth vibrate is a tad close for me! It is too bad that darned tree was right there where it looks at first glance to be a magnificent horn on a mutant rhino. It's a nice sharp image. Did you blur the background in pp? There is a sharp demarcation line between foreground and background.

Thanks again for sharing. I really love your notes describing your personal experience.

Evelynn : )

  • Great 
  • osse Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1029 W: 0 N: 90] (7655)
  • [2006-05-20 5:43]

Hi Loot
Grea shot.Good light, sharpnes, details, colours, DOF and POV. Like the composition with birds in his back.
Well done my friend

osse

Salut Loot
C'est une merveilleuse capture d'un des plus puissant animal sauvage de la planette.C'est une excellente composition avec des couleurs et des détails ravissants.
Merci et au revoir....JP

Hi Loot,
magnificent light on that rhino bull, peacefully grazing in the evening sun in a beautiful savannah landscape, trying to forget the earth moving troubles with his lady, two hungry birds on his neck.
And another exciting story you have presented us.
Great work again! Thank you!
Best regards,
Peter

hello Loot,
Excellent image to describe witha good note, this amazing and marvelous species.
You have work very well neating the image, I think; very good details.
Best regards
Hernán

  • Great 
  • gari Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 37 W: 0 N: 11] (149)
  • [2006-05-20 20:13]

Hola Loot.Gracias por tu correccion y tratamiento.Ha quedado genial.Esta imagen me ha recordado el viaje maravilloso a Kenia,y el material que he de escanear a Digital.Has conseguido una textura,volumen,encuadre y luces muy buenos con la Acacia al fondo y los pajarillos.Felicidades.Hasta pronto.

Hi Loot

What a huge charachter. I bet he doesn't know he has some 'free riders' on his back. A fantastic shot, excellent light with good details. Awesome note. Great job here! Thanks.

  • Great 
  • jmp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1836 W: 94 N: 2338] (8400)
  • [2006-05-21 5:10]

Hi Loot,
A masterpiece portrait: pose is majestic, light gradient gives volume tho the rhino, broad DOF with subject clearly shown and a wide landscape too, composition (the tree over the head is great with the branch like another horn). Thank you very much for send soo good photos.
José M.

  • Great 
  • Janice Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3400 W: 144 N: 5774] (17110)
  • [2006-05-21 6:18]

Hi Loot, I nearly missed this one!
What a cutie!! I love his pose and his eye on you too, as well as his non-event girlfriend!!
You show us this massive beast as well as his 2 companions taking a ride on his back. Plus we get to see the real countryside of Africa in the BG.
Thank you, it is a real super image.
Janice
Yes, good weekend for NZ! You picked right. Next week should be easy, well I hope so!

The sheer size of the animal comes through even in 800x600, Loot. Those two birds on its back provide the scale, if necessary! :-)
Excellent image, as usual from you.

Hi, Loot.
Mr. Rhino in whole size. Like the dirtiness of this animal - sure, have been sleeping in mud somewhere and these two birds sitting on back. Sharp and good exposure. And thanks.

Excellent side profile shot of this beautiful animal the lighting has been well chosen which shows great details on the skin. You've inspired me to purchase a rhino saddle and take up the sport. Nice job Loot. ;)

  • Great 
  • klemmg Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 302 W: 40 N: 484] (1719)
  • [2006-05-21 16:20]

Hi Loot,
Great capture of this "wide" guy. The two little helpers/cleaning birds on its back are a nice bonus.
Only one wee nit: the blurred tree in the BG makes it look a bit funny as it gives the impression of an extra horn. Suggest to choose a different angle to put the tree elsewhere or choose a smaller f/stop to blurr the BG more.
Wonderful light and the head is nicely accentuated with the most light there.
The great light brings out the texture of the skin nicely. Completed by a detailed note with your personal observations, which are greatly appreciated. Excellent!
Regards,
Gabi

Hello Loot,
Looking at TN gallery I came across your latest picture of butterfly. I noticed that you blurred BG in postprocessing. I took a look at your gallery and noticed the same in some other pictures of butterflies and also this picture. I've just strated to wonder why are you doing that? Don't get me wrong, but don't you have an impression that these pictures look flat? What I mean is, for me they look a bit like butterflies cut from other pictures and paste on the blurred BG. I guess blurring destroy a natural depth of the pictures created by shallow DOF.
Of course I know this is not the case here and you don't paste anything on your pictures, but that's how they look for me, especielly when the "edges" of such butterflies look quite unnatural.

As for this picture, I could say the same. First of all this is a great shot and I really like the POV and framing here, lighting is great too, but again I have feeling that you cut the rhino from some other shot and put it here. The area around the rhino looks kind of sharp and not natural because of the blurring.

Why I'm writing all these is the fact that I got interested in the matter of blurring. I would appreciate it if you could explain me why do you think it is good for your pictures? Hope you don't mind anything I wrote here. It's just pure curiosity :-)
Best regards,
Monika

  • Great 
  • aido Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1103 W: 173 N: 1227] (4038)
  • [2006-05-26 6:51]
  • [+]

Hi Loot,
A fantastic shot of this Rhino, very nice. The low POV is excellent, it really adds some power to the shot I think, probably because it makes him look bigger (like he needs that :-)). Beautiful detail and perfect natural colours. I think the framing is excellent too. I think what also adds impact here is the perfect exposure. The lighter (drier) areas on the Rhino really stand out from the darker trees without looking under or overexposed, it adds a lot of emphasis to the main subject.

I've read all the notes on the PP, I understand where you were going with it, I've used Gaussian Blur on BGs myself in the past, but as with your intent only to smooth them out. I think if you feathered each selection by about 3 or 4 pixels (on an image 750ish wide) it would improve the transition from blurred to focused, it would just take the edge out. There is a slightly sharp line across the foreground and feathering the selections would help that.

A great note, great capture and a great post!

Best regards,
Adrian

  • Great 
  • wuta Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 870 W: 2 N: 606] (2034)
  • [2006-05-26 13:08]
  • [+]

Hallo Loot , Eenhele mooie foto van de neushoorn , hij had nog even een modderbad genomen , ook de vogeltjes op zijn rug erg leuk ,mooie kleuren en details ,een goeie pof en heel scherp , een fijn weekend ,groeten teunie .

Nice shot of this big guy!!
The small oxpeckers are a great added value.
Andrea

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2794 W: 75 N: 7809] (26121)
  • [2006-05-29 2:29]

Hi Loot!
I don't know why, but rhinos are rather rare on TN. Your picture is real gem! I like pose, 'typical', African BG, beautifull colours and light. Moment with two birds on its back is also very good. And details - especially textures of skin - amazing. Thanks for sharing this very interesting picture!

By the way - I love your critiques - they're very helpfull, especially for language learners. I learnt from them many new words and expressions.

Hi Loot,

Another superb picture. You're a lucky man to live in such a beautiful country. We rarely see Hippos wlaking around in France :-). Thanks for sharing and your comment.

Serge

Wow! Massive is a good word but majestic is another. Wonderful photo, brilliant colors, composition and POV! TFS - Xplorator Radu

Hi Loot

What a cracking shot.
I like the POV of this photo.
It is always great to see such creatures in their wild state.
This bull is in excellent condition and hopefully, he will remain safe from the poachers, although those beautiful horns will have their mouths watering if they ever see him.
I was watching a National Geographic film last week and I learned another fact about the Rhino, which I found very surprising.
The narrator told us that more wild Rhino are killed by Elephants than any other source.
He also said that Rhino have been known to kill some Elephants but nowhere near as many.
I was quite astounded at this, as I always thought that they usually gave each other mutual respect and avoided each other.
Great photo mate.

Regards

Roy

  • Great 
  • Dyker Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 137 W: 0 N: 58] (164)
  • [2007-01-09 9:11]

Hello Loot
Ouch...I pinched myself to make sure what I see is real. Beautiful animal, lovely photo, and good note. Interesting how he almost look red in colour. Must be red turf and mudpools there. I like elephants best, but this shot moved rhinos a little closer. A majestic animal.
Greetings
AC

Is dit nie duidelik dat ons swak en klein is in die natuur nie? Pragtige foto Loot
Betsie

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