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Mother and Son. II


Mother and Son. II
Photo Information
Copyright: Peter Stoeckl (peter_stoeckl) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1539 W: 272 N: 3370] (9377)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-10-30
Categories: Mammals
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-H5
Exposure: f/4.5, 1/160 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Baby Animals 6, Nature's cutest [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2006-12-22 13:56
Viewed: 1247
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 42
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Mother and Son. II

Semnopithecus entellus (Dufresne 1797)
Hanuman Langur.

This rather intimate close-up will be the last one of a series on Hanuman Langurs I am going to post.

I was touched when I saw mother and son sitting next to the path on a hill with a temple on top. Looking at their expressions, it may be considered that in the Latin word “animal” the word “anima” is contained, which means “soul”.

For our friends from India my series of Langurs may have been common and usual, just as for Europeans seeing pictures of pigeons in the street. But for an European coming to India it never fails to be an unforgettable experience meeting monkeys in the villages and in their genuine jungle habitat.

With their jetblack faces, hands and feet in strong contrast to their fair gray coats Hanuman Langurs are a challenge for animal portrait photographers, anyway. Their black eyes are hidden in their faces in a way that it is hard to tell even from close distance whether they are looking at you or not, and whether they have their eyes closed or open. And using a flash in order to brighten the up their faces will not really go together with any kind of careful and respectful approach to these animals.

Why are those black eyes so well hidden in their black faces? Staring eyes are always likely to be interpreted as aggressive among primates and other mammals. So maybe the disappearance of dark eyes in dark faces has been encouraged by evolution as a means of avoiding aggression within members of langur tribes.

In the epos of Ramayana, mythology offers another explanation for the Hanuman Langur’s conspicuously black face, hands and feet. Hanuman, the cunning general of a monkey army, came to rescue Sita, the wife of prince Rama, from a giant named Ravana who kept her in captivity on the island of Lanka. On that occasion, Hanuman also purloined some delicious Mango fruits from the giant’s garden. Unfortunately, Hanuman was seized by the giant while stealing the precious Mangos, and for that crime he was sentenced to death by being burned alive on a funeral pile. Well, courageous Hanuman succeeded in extinguishing the flames, and he managed to escape – but with hands, feet, and face terribly charred.

So that’s why langurs have such black faces. And why they are treated so well by the grateful people of India:

for having brought the Mango.


For more details on behaviour, distribution, and morphology please see my previous postings.


The location:

The rocky hill with Savitri temple on top, covered with acacia scrub forest, overlooking the town of Pushkar. - Thank you, Ram, for telling me the name of the place.


Thank you for looking.

I wish you a Merry Christmas!
jmp, cataclysta, Argus, wallhalla15, Alex99, Comandante, fiyo, Robespierre, fyapici, marhowie, manyee, uleko, RAP, vanderschelden, star74, Maite, oguz has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To wallhalla15: "Affenliebe"peter_stoeckl 1 12-23 15:25
To wallhalla15: Bravo.Alex99 1 12-22 15:25
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • jmp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1836 W: 94 N: 2340] (8406)
  • [2006-12-22 14:04]

Hi Peter,
Beatitul image and really a great moment. I enjoy reading your note as much as looking at the picture!
Best regards, José M.

Hi Peter
With their eyes close. Great post. Beautiful light
Best wishes
Krzysztof

  • Great 
  • wuta Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 884 W: 2 N: 616] (2070)
  • [2006-12-22 14:15]

Very cute , A Beauty shot Peter , good pose details pov and colours very good tfs , Happy Cristmas and Happy new year ,Teunie .

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2757 W: 147 N: 7955] (24769)
  • [2006-12-22 14:30]

Hello Peter,
This is, like your previous Langur posting, a sensitive and exquisite presentation.
Beautiful Madonna and Child!
Happy Holiday to and your family!
Ivan

Hallo Peter,
meinen Glückwunsch - dieses Foto gefällt mir noch besser! Was soll ich dazu sagen, zur Verbindung Mutter - Sohn(Kind), Mensch - Tier - sorry Peter, da fehlen mir irgendwie die passenden Worte. Auf jeden Fall bin ich von diesem Foto begeistert. Technik wie immer super! Deine Erläuterungen lassen im Gegensatz von leider mehreren TN-Kanditaten nie zu wünschen übrig, also immer sehr aufschlußreich und auch lehrreich. -
Da gibt es doch aus dem deutschen Sprachgebrauch das Wort "Affenliebe". - Früher wurde, glaube ich, damit die übertriebene Liebe zu seinem Kinde ausgedrückt; also man sprach von einer erdrückenden Liebe. Ich kann hier aber beim besten Willen nichts Negatives erkennen und auch denken - das Gegenteil! Dieses Bild zeigt viel Zärtlichkeit und Geborgenheit. -
Da kocht bei mir schon wieder das Blut, wenn ich daran denke, dass solche Tiere für total blödsinnige Versuche, z.B. für die Kosmetikindustrie, mißbraucht werden. Gleiches gilt für die Pharmaindustrie und Medizin. - Ich bin übrigens ein scharfer Gegener von Tierversuchen, bin nebenbei als Tierschutzberater im hiesigen Raum tätig.-
Danke Dir für dieses Superbild. Ich wünsche Dir und den Deinen ein schönes Weihnachtsfest.
Lieben Gruß aus Ostwestfalen
Heinz

Hi Peter,
Very nice capture.Mum seems very tired.Clear,sharp and well composed image.Merry Christmas and Happy new Year.
Thanks for sharing.

  • Great 
  • fiyo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 957 W: 5 N: 2365] (8836)
  • [2006-12-22 15:58]

Hello Peter,
Excellent capture,
Lovely detail and colours,nice composition.
Nice work,very well done.

Hi Peter,
Great family-portrait! Both have a wonderful expression, very nicely captured by you. The exposure is OK. Personnally I find it always difficult to get the right structures and details in the whites and blacks. You perfectly succeed in getting the right balnce. Compliments Peter, and also for you a very fine Christmas.
Regards, Ruud

Hi Peter,
Impressive pose! The mother seems very happy and quiet while feeding her baby. The baby is very happy and felt in safety itself in its mothers embrace. Their expression seems like humans. You have reflected very well their feelings as a photo. And I totally agree with Alexei. Bravo my dear friend.
Greetings and merry christmas.
Fevzi

How great is this Peter!
A picture is worth a thousand words...or tugs on the teat in this case :)
The expression on MOM is priceless.
Merry Christmas mf.

  • Great 
  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3100 W: 234 N: 5930] (20012)
  • [2006-12-23 3:19]

Oh my gosh, Peter.
This shot is awesome... as in... awe-inspiring.
It is so icon-like, like a madonna and child.
The black and white colors of the langurs reduce the scene to its utmost simplicity of form and pose.
The closed eyes and peaceful demeanor exude soulfulness.
This is an exquisitely sensitive and touching portrait of mother and child.
Thank you for this beautiful, beautiful scene.
Fröhliche Weinachten to you and yours. : )

  • Great 
  • Alex99 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3167 W: 148 N: 4793] (15465)
  • [2006-12-23 3:26]

Hi Peter.
You definitely follow famous classic painters of Middle Ages (Epoch of the Renaissance, for example, Michelangelo) in the representation of feeding mother. Poses, expressions, mood, composition, loving colours and delicate lighting – all of these components corresponds to classical canons. BRAVO, my friend, BRAVO.
Great artist work. and great Note.
Alexei.

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2580 W: 170 N: 7866] (24875)
  • [2006-12-23 7:10]

Hello Peter,
Beautiful capture of mother Langur and child - I really like the expressions on their faces! All very sharp and the texture of the coats is beautiful. Thank you too for the very interesting notes!
TFS and best wishes, Ulla

  • Great 
  • RAP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2524 W: 345 N: 2373] (7405)
  • [2006-12-23 7:42]

n excelente complemento de tu anterior presentación Peter mostrando en detalle los rostros de este par tan conmovedores.
Me gusta mucho el punto de vista con agudeza y el desenfoque necesarios para crear una atmósfera muy agradable, debido al fondo difuso y la luz alrededor de la cabeza de la madre.
El apropiado encuadre vertical bien recortado completa una maravillosa entrega.
Felicidades y un 2007 lleno de grandes fotos!.
Ricardo

An excellent complement of your previous presentation Peter showing in detail this so moving couple's faces.
I like a lot the point of view with sharpness and the necessary out of focus to create a very pleasant atmosphere, due to the diffuse bottom and the light around the mother's head.
The appropriate vertical framing well clipped complete a wonderful post.
Happiness and a 2007 full with great pictures!.
Ricardo

Hi Peter,
What a content...!!
All I want to say is the following:
You can learn a lot about humans through animals that is what the picture is telling IMO.
TFS
Annick

Hi Peter,
Another superb shot from you again.
Very nice pose.
Great colors and sharpness.
TFS

very nice one Peter,
I wish you and your family a very good christmas.
very nice pov in the shot, very nice job.
gr. jaap

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5171 W: 297 N: 4050] (13069)
  • [2006-12-24 10:10]

Hello Peter,
Wonderful capture of this mother and cher child.POV,lighting,sharpness,clear details and composition are excellent.Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
TFS...:-)

  • Great 
  • SkyF Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2390 W: 194 N: 1991] (8113)
  • [2006-12-25 10:11]

Hallo Peter,
ein sehr sensibles Bild, die posieren ja wirklich herrlich fuer dich.
Ein wunderbarer Moment den du hier so schoen festgehalten hast.
Frohe Weihnacht und eine guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr.
Sky

  • Great 
  • badar Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 109 W: 0 N: 168] (785)
  • [2006-12-30 7:48]

Hi Peter,
Nice composition ,the two seem extremely secure.
TFS
Badruddin Ali

  • Great 
  • Maite Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1005 W: 64 N: 1242] (5082)
  • [2007-01-04 16:22]

Hello Peter
I love this picture so tender and perfectly achieved! Wonderful close-up and wonderful composition. The information is also excellent.
Superb job.
Thank you very much for giving us this beautiful gift.
Best wishes
Maite

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