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Two elephants


Two elephants
Photo Information
Copyright: Annick Vanderschelden (vanderschelden) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2573 W: 76 N: 6467] (25759)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-10-19
Categories: Mammals
Camera: Canon EOS 1D Mark III, Canon 400mm 2.8 IS
Photo Version: Original Version
Travelogue: Kruger National Park
Theme(s): CeltickRanger's favorite African animal photos [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2008-03-04 2:36
Viewed: 505
Points: 26
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Social behaviour


Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives.

The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not.

The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turn. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding.

The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate.

Camera Model Name
Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Shooting Date/Time
19/10/2007 09:54:45
Tv(Shutter Speed)
1/640Sec.
Av(Aperture Value)
F6.3
Metering Modes
Evaluative metering
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
400
Lens
EF400mm f/2.8L IS USM
Focal Length
400,0 mm
Image size
3888 x 2592
Image Quality
RAW
Flash
Off
White Balance
Auto
AF mode
One-Shot AF
Picture Style
Standard
cataclysta, goldyrs, Adanac, John_F_Kennedy, gerbilratz, boreocypriensis, CeltickRanger has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To Janice: Hello Janice,vanderschelden 1 03-05 02:07
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi Annick
Another great shot from Africa. Also very informative note. Very interesting presentation
TFS
Krzysztof

  • Great 
  • fiyo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 924 W: 5 N: 2244] (8264)
  • [2008-03-04 3:07]

Hello Annick,
Very nice capture. Lovely composition,colors,sharpness and details are great! TFS

Annick,
A very beautiful shot of these handsome animals!!They're pretty different from the ones I've posted, these being hte african kind!Nonetheless, their behaviour is the same, from what I know!!
Thanks for sharing this wonderful shot!
Regards,
Goldy

  • Great 
  • joey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1584 W: 242 N: 5304] (18669)
  • [2008-03-04 5:35]

Another great shot of these playing, or fighting, Elephants!
Superb composition and POV.
I love the poses.
Sharp with immense detail.
Nice colours as well.
Very well done Annick,

Joe

  • Great 
  • Adanac Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1036 W: 1 N: 3970] (13358)
  • [2008-03-04 6:05]

Hello Annick,
Wonderful image of these interacting pachyderms at the watering hole. Thanks also for the fantastic notes, great work my friend.
Rick

Fantastic photo captured in a perect moment! Colours and light so nice. It's a wonderful shot.
Best wishes,
Achim

great animals, lovely capture and a great "African" shot....lovely work,,TFS

Annick,
You're the passionate animal lover and photographer. You spend much time watching them play and do their things, and that's how you have many good photos of them. Thanks for taking us there with you. All is fine, no critique.
Way

  • Great 
  • Janice Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3414 W: 144 N: 5803] (17197)
  • [2008-03-04 23:43]
  • [+]

Hi Annick, well captured photo of the 2 elephants. Are they both males? The larger one looks like he's just giving the smaller one a few friendly rules!!
Very good sharpness and details
Janice

hello Annick

lovely shot of those two Elephants, i love the POV of your image,
excellent density of the colours, excellent sharpness & details, TFS

Asbed

  • Great 
  • gannu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 844 W: 4 N: 2088] (9792)
  • [2008-03-05 23:18]

Annick, I saw something similar to this earlier. You had captured it very nice and lovely note. Clean work. Ganesh

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2008-03-07 22:04]

Hello Annick

What a wonderful moment captured.
The pose is beautiful.Excellent composition with spot on focus.
The lighting and colours are well handled.
Great job on the POV and DOF.
I love these Kruger shots.
TFS

Rob

Hi Annick!

First thank you for you nice words on my pic!
This shot is amazing, how far on earth did you stand to make two of such huge animals in a 400mm view? :)
The details are amazing too and the action looks very nice, despite the aggressive approach. They really don't seem to do much harm on each other. TFS!

Best regards,
Andor

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