Looking into 2009

Critiques [Translate]

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• ramthakur (32178)
• [2008-12-31 19:34]

I agree with you, Anna. The image suits the occasion. There is an infinite range of possibilities out there in the blue space ahead of the birds.
Oxpeckers are winsome birds with those colourful eyes and beaks. The view from the rear presents them well in your picture. I was trying to figure out what they were sitting on and your note revealed the mystery.
Wishing you once again a Happy New Year,
Ram

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• Luis52 (12761)
• [2008-12-31 19:36]

Hola Anna.
Great photo to celebrate the new coming Year Anna. Have a wonderful new Year to You and to Your husband.
Luis Leal

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• Wolfpower (974)
• [2008-12-31 19:48]

Hello Anna

I see we are neighbours today.
Best wishes for 2009.This is a lovely capture of these two beauties.
One almost forgets that the lovely perch is an amazing giraffe.
Excellent POV and DOF.
The focus is sharp with rich detail.
lovely warm light and well saturated colours.
The eye detail is terrific.
TFS

Wolf

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• gracious (13068)
• [2009-01-01 0:18]

Hello Anna,
Thank you so much for this wonderful shot of the two Oxpeckers having a ride on the giraffe's back into the new year2009! simly wonderful!
much appreciated for the wonderful and friendship during 2008 and looking forward in seeing your quality images in the year 2009 as well
wishing you and Loot
THE MOST JOYFUL AND HAPPY NEW YEAR2009 in South Africa!
my warmest regards from NZ
Tony

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• valy67 (8733)
• [2009-01-01 0:58]

Hello Anna !
What a gorgeous picture to start the new year ! I hope everything started well for you and for all those you love ! Your picture, at least, is a very beautiful one, I love those colorful birds, and I also like the way they are titting their heads toward each other, as if they were whispering things. And I wouldn't have guessed it's a giraffe's back, if you hadn't mentioned it in your notes. Very well done !
Valerie.

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• Silvio2006 (41532)
• [2009-01-01 1:00]

Ciao Anna, lovely couple of beautiful birds with great colors, perfect focus on both red-billed, fine details and splendid sharpness,
very well done
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009,
Silvio

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• Argus (35107)
• [2009-01-01 1:13]

Happy New Year to you Anna!
These two Red-billed Oxpeckers certainly look as though they are wondering and discussing what the New Year has to offer, if not what kind of meal is to be found on the Giraffe's back!
A great shot, taken with excellent technical merits, including the lighting. The composition and POV also contribute to an image that is eminently suitable with which to start the year.
Thanks for delighting us with this,
Best wishes,
Ivan

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• Rosa (0)
• [2009-01-01 1:19]

Hello Anna,
what a great way to start the New Year,
stunning colours,
wonderful POV,
Great details.
Have a fantastic New Year
Rosa

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• PeterZ (17640)
• [2009-01-01 2:07]

Hello Anna,
What an amazing start in 2009.
Looks like a great interaction between these Oxpeckers. Fantastic photo in wonderful colours and sharp details. Excellent timing, POV, DOF and composition.
Happy and Healthy New Year,
Peter

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• wishnugaruda (16720)
• [2009-01-01 2:39]

HI Anna,
that's wonderful for New-Years-Day - it seems they are talking with each other, also wishing a good New Year ;-)
All the best for you and Loot, greetings from Germany
Sabine - wishnugaruda

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• Noisette (3975)
• [2009-01-01 3:00]

hello Anna
i wish you a happy new year too !
This two oxpekkers seems really looking foreward in the future, beautiful composition , sitting on the giraffe's back, I like the colors and the pose of the two birds
very well done
Jacqueline

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• red45 (30243)
• [2009-01-01 3:22]

Happy New Year Anna!

Fantastic capture, very suitable for this day. I like poses of birds, their colours and composition with dried grass. They indeed look like thinking and talking about future :-)

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• uleko (2877)
• [2009-01-01 4:25]

Hello Anna,
These two are obviously discussing their next move, unaware of what will happen next, just like us all as we move into the New Year! I wish you and Loot all the very best for the coming year and hope you'll get many happy hours 'shooting' together!
Lovely shot of the Oxpeckers living in harmony with the Giraffe.
TFS and kind regards, Ulla

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• jconceicao (2489)
• [2009-01-01 4:31]

Hello Anna,

Excellent capture of this beautiful birds.
Wonderful colours with fantastic definition.
Lighting and composition are splendid.
Good notes.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

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• pankajbajpai (16507)
• [2009-01-01 4:45]

hello anna,
wish you a very happy new year 2009,
i liked the pose and the title of the picture, the colours look beautiful and the composition is pleasing,
well done,
tfs & regards
pankaj

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• sranjan (4012)
• [2009-01-01 5:15]

Hello Anna,
This is an astonishing shot by you with most appropriate title suited to this occasion. The couple of the Red-billed oxpeckers is very well focused with excellent details & sharpness (of course with luminous reddish-orange colorful eyes) sitting on giraffe's neck incline. TFS.
Regards-Subhash

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• Gert-Paassen (13856)
• [2009-01-01 5:16]

Hi Anne,

what a nice first picture.
Great shot of this birds that looking to each other.

Beautiful colours.
Happy new year 2009 to you and your husband Loot.

Gert

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• crs (3543)
• [2009-01-01 8:19]

Hello Anna,

The birds in your photo are looking very nice and the mane of the giraffe as border beteen years is a good idea. I like the fine light you have captured showing nicely the colors of the bird as well as these of the fur. You have chosen a fine POV showing the bird in greatdetails.

Thank you for sharing and I wish you a Happy New Year,
Cristian

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• Alex99 (18601)
• [2009-01-01 8:21]

Hi, dear Anna.
Outstanding and very-very attractive picture of a rare enough scene. However, I am amazed at the same measure with your the most heartfelt note and wishes. I also wish to you and Loot happiness, health, prosperity and, of course, continuation of your and Loot's photo series.

Quality of the shot is stunning. I cannot imagine better reproduction of the birds and animal's mane. Sharpness, lights, exactness of colours are unbelievable. Bravo.
Alexei.

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• darwin (1393)
• [2009-01-01 9:16]

Hi Anna
Splendid shot and wonderful composition of these two oxpeckers.Fine details and texture with nice natural color tones make this image pleasing to the eye.
tfs jon
Happy new year

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• eng55 (3654)
• [2009-01-01 10:17]

Hi Anna,
Very nice capture.Clarity,details,POV,colors and composition is wonderful.Hope they had seen end of economical crisis:)I wish Happy New Year for you and your family too!
Thanks for posting.

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• euroblinkie (10197)
• [2009-01-01 10:41]

hello Annna

great picture with the sharp details and colors

beautiful birds

greeting lou

happy 2009

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• septimiu_nemes (2159)
• [2009-01-01 10:43]

amazig capture , beautiful colours and details,
Happy New Year !
septimiu

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• efsus (3210)
• [2009-01-01 11:18]

Merhaba Dostum Anna,
Bu ne muhteşem bir kare böyle! 2009 yılın gerçekten çok sevimli bir kare ile başlamışsınız. Thumbnail den bakınca ilk başta sanki susuzluktan kurumuş bir otlakta çekilmiş bir foto gibi geldi ama, büyütüp baktığımda büyükbaş bir hayvanın sırtında oldularını farkettim. Muhtemelen hayvanın parazitleriyle beslenen kuşlar bunlar. Kuşlardaki renklerin ve detayların kusursuz sunumuyla seyri çok hoş bir kareye imza atmışsınız. 2009 yılının size ve sevdiklerinize sağlık başarı ve huzur getirmesini temenni ediyorum.

Great start to 2009 with this nice photo. Happy and Healthy New Year,
Best regards.

Hüseyin

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• Nilson (3110)
• [2009-01-01 13:18]

Hello Ana
Nice picture and excellent colors and details, the pose of the two birds is amazing just looking into 2009.
Congratulation and Happy New Year
Nilson

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• lousat (19673)
• [2009-01-01 15:09]

Waaw Anna,what a fantastic idea to make the whishes to the new year!!Surely one of the best,the pic is at the top of quality!!!Have a great 2009 you too,Luciano BUON ANNO

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• ferranjlloret (4742)
• [2009-01-01 15:44]

Hello Anna,
Great pictures of these Red-Billed Oxpecker.
Excellent POV, DOF, sharpness and composition.
Happy and Healthy New Year for you and you family
Ferran

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• FunkyMunky (134)
• [2009-01-01 23:40]

Hi Anna, onca again, great picture, made even more so by the fitting title, it really looks as if they are looking into the future. I hope they see a bright 2009 for all of us. Hope to see many more great pics from you in the new year!
Take care
Peter

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• loot (10035)
• [2009-01-02 2:08]

Hi Miss Piggy

Actually I don't want to critique this posting - simply because I am jealous.
How's that for honesty?
For years I've tried to capture a decent shot of these birds, but fate has
always played its cruel hand against me.
These fluttery peckers don't sit still for any prolonged period and whenever
I press my shutter release button then they already moved to the other side
of the animal or they took to flight.

This is a great shot of the oxpecker couple having a chit-chat on the back of
a giraffe. A very appropriate choice of image for conveying this special New
Years wishes to the greater TrekNature community.
The low early morning light came in at just the right angle to cast a lovely
Illumination on the birds. The interaction between the two birds is priceless.

Thanks for the good wishes for the New Year. My best wishes for an awesome
2009 to you too. You'll notice though, I did not say "to your loved ones too" as
it probably would mean that I am expressing this wish to myself as well, but
thinking about it, there's probably nothing wrong with that. Is there?

Well done and TFS
Love
Loot

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• iris (3016)
• [2009-01-02 2:14]

Dear Anna,
Thank you so much for your kind wishes and accept my congratulations on the success of the concept of this brilliant composition. Many like me thought the birds to be perched on wild grass...i though they were sitting over looking the valley.....And there seems to be quite a bit of conversation going on here...is that the man turing the head and the lady sitting with her thought train running...the brown tones on the birds and the giraffe's fur just creates a superb effect and yes the blue segment out there is offers a great field of space.
This your own style of presentation seen only in your posts and i look forward to your class of shots in 2009.
Take care and wish you and your family a new year of health and peace
Cheers
Silpa

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• haraprasan (17792)
• [2009-01-02 6:40]

Hi Anna,
HAPPY NEW YEAR. A nice capture of these beautiful Oxpeckers. Superb sharp details and a lovely composition. Thanks a lot for sharing.

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• wuta (2142)
• [2009-01-02 10:54]

Hello Anna , Wonderful capture great pose colours good job , And a Very Good 2009 for you and loot , Greetings Teunie and Jaap .

•  
• vanderschelden (30147)
• [2009-01-02 11:22]

Hello Anna,
First of all a happy new year for you and Loot.
The Sunset dam is a nice place to photograph many species and sometimes even two different species at the same time such as a Giraffe with two Oxpeckers. So...I hope you will have such photographic opportunities this year (already 2009:-)as well, whether you capture them in KNP, another park or in the garden (at least as long as it isn't an anaconda:-)
Thanks for sharing your image; it's nice to be at Sunset dam again virtually spoken.
Annick

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• matatur (4476)
• [2009-01-02 13:43]

My feelings towards the New Year are quite reciprocal with yours Anna, thank you for your warm feelings dear friend, also thank you indeed for sharing that wonderful pair of Red Billed (and red eyed) Oxpeckers with us, a fine capture indeed!
Cheers,
Mehmet

•  
• CeltickRanger (15233)
• [2009-01-02 16:17]

hello Anna

i critique images by 2 ways, or i answer to critiques
received on my photos or i go continent by continent
to view and critique images, i found the best way
to navigate between the pages, and i always start by North America
and finish my navigation by Africa

yesterday when i was in Africa and saw you photo
my daily 20 critiques where done, so here i am today

(thanks to your critique on my 300th photo)

very beautiful shot of these 2 African birds Anna,
until i read you notes, i taught these 2 birds
where perched on vegetation and not « giraffe’s back »,
now i am laughing, laughing on me lol,

you shot them with a very fine POV the 2 birds
having a discussion on the starting new year,
very beautiful luminosity, excellent sharpness and details, TFS

Happy and Healthy New Year for you and Loot

Asbed

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• serp2000 (400)
• [2009-01-02 22:14]

Privet, Anna,
Fuuny shot! Like a talking of two birds. Super sharpness, excellent colours, an interesting note! TFS!
All the best wishes,
Serghei

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• maurydv (16676)
• [2009-01-03 6:27]

Ciao Anna,
bellissima immagine di questo uccelli, che possono ben simboleggiare un sguardo di speranza sul futuro, liberandoci dalle cose "fastidiose" che ci circondano, ed un'indicazione di collaborazione fra i popoli per un benessere che sia globale.
Rinnovo gli Auguri di un Felice 2009 a te e ai tuoi famigliari.
TFS.
Maurizio

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• mariki (9467)
• [2009-01-03 6:49]

Hello Anna,

Very nice presentation of these two oxpeckers sitting on a giraffe's back. I love the pose of the two birds. Excellent sharpness. Superb warm colours.
Wish you all the best for this New Year.
Cheers,
Mariki

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• meyerd (5384)
• [2009-01-03 12:14]

Hi Anna,

they look great, those two guys! Well caught, the composition and the use of light are masterful.

Anna, I wish you a Happy New Year and more of these shots in your treasure trove, the Kruger Park
Dietrich

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• joey (24727)
• [2009-01-03 14:22]

Hi Anna,
this is a brilliant photo!!
Superb poses.
Very sharp and detailed.
Excellent light.

Very well done and I hope you have a brilliant 2009!

Joe

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• Maite (5195)
• [2009-01-03 14:56]

Hello dear Anna
What a great shot and good title for it!! I agree completely with your words and I am wishing the same for you and all this family of Nature lovers.
Thank you very much for your marvellous pictures and for your friendly and kind comments.
All the best for you and yours in this new Year.
My best regards
Maite

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• goldyrs (9271)
• [2009-01-03 20:13]

A lovely shot, as usual, Anna...I love the unique POV you've chosen, which brings out an almost conversational effect to these beautiful birds.
Very well done, indeed!
Wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy New Year!
Goldy
PS:Thanks for the kind words!

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• jignasi (14807)
• [2009-01-04 2:28]

Hola Anna. En primer lugar , muchas gracias por tus amables comentarios que dan ánimos y hacen que sea esta una web abradable y menos anónima.
Tu fotografía es especial por la original a la vez que real temática que tratas. Una buena explicación de un fenómeno que solamente hemos visto en la tv algunos de nosotros. Una dificil realización pero con buen resultado que nos permite conocer estas curiosas aves.
Buen año para tí también.
Josep Ignasi.

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• jaycee (21912)
• [2009-01-04 9:20]

Hi Anna,

A wonderful pair of these unusual looking birds which I have not seen before. The red beaks and red and yellow eyes are wonderful. I love the poses - perhaps they are making plans for the new year. I wish you and Loot a healthy and happy 2009.

Jane

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• jusninasirun (7662)
• [2009-01-04 21:55]

Hi Anna,
I missed some fine new additions to your already excellent gallery and it is nice to be back.
You have registered these duo perfectly with fine sharpness and excellent details. The impala provides excellent contrast and the spotless sky eliminates all the busyness in the composition. The exposure and lighting are flawless and thanks for sharing. Best regards and kind wishes.

Jusni

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• envisage (188)
• [2009-01-05 1:01]

Hi Anna,

I have never seen a red-billed ox pecker before. TFS.

This is a beautiful photograph.. i like the POV and colors. What makes this picture interesting is the fact that the birds are turning towards each other.

Cheers and HNY 2009!

Sreya

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• Heaven (6060)
• [2009-01-05 1:19]

Hi Anna!

Many thanks for your good wishes! I also would like to take the opportunity to wish you all the best for this new year. I hope it will be rich of good and deep emotions for you.

I also would like to congratulate you for this original and funny greeting card. It looks like the birds are talking together, I just wonder what... The fact that the two fellows are sitting on a giraffe's neck adds to the value of the picture. The great sharpness shows good and rich details. Moreover, the subject is well chosen for a greeting card. I like your idea of the birds looking to a distant future... and maybe "talking" about the times to come!

Kind regards

Markus

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• jeanpaul (14117)
• [2009-01-05 10:08]

Hi Anna
Très belle présentation de ces beaux oiseaux qui font du taxi et se promènent sur le dos des autres.Les couleurs et les détails sont jolis.
Merci et a bientôt...JP

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• soccer (1965)
• [2009-01-06 1:35]

Anna,

Very good close up and tight composition. the detail and sharpness is great. I also like the clear BG, DOF, POV and clarity of image.
TFS,
Sheriff

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• Janice (18648)
• [2009-01-06 1:36]

They look like 2 old men chatting and talking about what they did that day!!
Superb capture Anna - I just love it. And aren't they little beauties too.
Well done
Janice

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• fiyo (10618)
• [2009-01-07 6:30]

Fantastic shot Anna, very nice capture with a superb composition
Superb detail, and excellent bright colours. Very sharp and clear.
Thanks for posting

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• smitha (3753)
• [2009-01-07 21:50]

Dear Anna,
Thank you very much for your new year wish and I too wish you loads of photo opportunities and photos to share with us .These two definitely look busy making their new year resolutions.:)
Excellent photo with good POV, DOF sharpness and colours. The birds' red beak and red eyes with yellow rings looks very attractive on them.Good use of light too.
Thanks for the share,
Smitha.

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• jossim (12252)
• [2009-01-08 3:24]

Bonjour Anna,

Félicitation pour cette belle prise.
Merci pour le partage et bonne année.
Joseph

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• marhowie (302)
• [2009-01-08 7:02]

Interesting shot Anna..At first glance one can imagine they're having a discussion concerning where to look for bugs..But that would be "splitting hairs" ;}
Wonderful interaction captured,
Very well done!
Howard

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• oscarromulus (5714)
• [2009-01-08 8:00]

Anna,
Our warm regards to you, your GREAT husband, Loot, & your lovely family.
We used to love watching this species "grazing" on the backs of the tall girrafs.
OUTSTANDING PIECE OF PHOTOGRAPHY WORK.
Mario from COLD COLD Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

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• buff (26)
• [2009-01-11 2:54]
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• peter_stoeckl (10219)
• [2009-01-11 5:00]

Dear Anna,
marvellous backlight, rich colours, a perfect composition.
I love those poses of shy intimacy and anticipation of what is over the edge.
A wonderful image, and a very special presentation for the New Year.
Thank you! With all my best wishes to you!
Peter

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• xTauruSx (606)
• [2009-01-13 0:24]

Hello again Anna, another wonderful shot of this pair on a huge ruminant.
TFS and regards,
Deniz

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• bahadir (642)
• [2009-01-13 0:27]

Hi Anna splendid shotof this lovely pair. TFS.
Regards, Bahadır

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• zulfu (870)
• [2009-01-13 0:36]

Perfect one Anna, they are chating i think:). TF.
Greetings,
Mehmet

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• Mikolaj (3319)
• [2009-01-24 6:08]

Hello Anna! Amazing pair. Wonderful scene. Good capture. Nice natural light and colours. Good sharpness. Good luck!

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• fragman (17649)
• [2009-02-17 8:22]

I wonder what are they talking-thinking about, greetings Ori

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• bartove (6222)
• [2009-02-21 21:21]

wonderful shot of the two Oxpeckers
fine details and splendid sharpness,
very well done
Eyal

•      
• tuslaw (4861)
• [2009-02-24 19:12]

Hello Anna,
While viewing this photo I couldn't help but make my own caption, it goes like this....(Fred..don't you think it's time to trim these hedges?)
Just having fun tonight web browsing TN.....
Ron
PS. Love the photo!!! Out of smilies though..sorry.