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Racing Stripes


Racing Stripes
Photo Information
Copyright: Alan Turvey (liquidsunshine) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2045 W: 113 N: 3390] (11492)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Black & White
Date Taken: 2006-04-14
Categories: Mammals
Camera: Canon EOS 20D, Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX APO RF, Hoya skylight (1B)
Exposure: f/7.1, 1/400 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2006-07-10 14:46
Viewed: 1020
Points: 54
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Here's a recent archive find. A young Grevy's Zebra from Whipsnade.


Grevy's Zebra: Equus grevyi

Description: horse-like with big, broad, rounded ears. Long, narrow head, very narrow & numerous stripes on body and legs. Belly is usually pure white.

Size: length : 2.1-2.3m, tail 50cm. Shoulder height : 1.5m.

Weight: 350-430kg.

Life span: 25-30 years.

Food: grasses and some foliage.

Grevy's zebra is the largest of all the zebras and it is an endangered species. Grevy was not the discoverer of this species, but a President of France who received the first specimens known to the scientific world.

It is widely believed and accepted that this zebra was the famed "hippotigris" (horse-tiger) of the Roman circus, so the specimens so graciously received by President Grevy may have been new to science, but they had been known by much earlier Europeans.

At first glance all zebra species look very similar to one another, but Grevy's zebra is probably the most easily recognised of them all. It is a very striking, tall zebra with huge ears and narrow stripes which encircle the rump in a concave pattern.

Territory: These zebra usually live in small herds of up to fourteen individuals. There are family groups as well as bachelor herds, but the biggest and strongest stallions are solitary for much of the time, each occupying a territory of about one mile in diameter.

Feeding: like all horses, the Grevy's zebra eats mainly grass and spends most of the daylight hours grazing. It prefers tender shoots, but usually has to eat mostly coarser grass. Leaves, bark, buds and fruit are also eaten.

Grevy's zebra has adapted well to its desert-like habitat and seems able to withstand extremes of both heat and thirst. It can survive for several days without eating or drinking.

Breeding: normally only one foal is born to a female after a gestation period (the time between mating and birth) of thirteen months. Most of the babies are born between May and August. The young zebra has brown stripes and a mane which stretches from the shoulder to the tail.

The background colour of the foal's coat is light brown instead of white. This protective colouring helps the foal to "freeze" and blend instantly with its background.

The foal can stand on its feet within one hour of its birth and can run with the herd after only a few hours - this gives it a much better chance of escaping from predators, usually lions. Young males leave the herd when they are about two years old and join bachelor herds. Eventually they will collect mares to form their own new herds or perhaps challenge old or weak stallions and take over their herd.

Notes from yptenc.org.uk

Thanks for looking, have a great week.

Exposure Time: 1/400 sec
F-Stop: f/7.1
ISO Speed Ratings: 100
Focal Length: 500/1 mm
Date Taken: 2006-04-14 13:17
Metering Mode: Partial
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
shal, Fisher, Janice, Dando, radz, red45, coasties, dew77, liziafa, SkyF, scottevers7, ramthakur, valy67, wallhalla15, Paulosousa, carper, marhowie, alejandroguzman has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3119 W: 236 N: 5956] (20112)
  • [2006-07-10 14:52]

A wonderful black and white presentation, Alan.
An endearing pose of this young zebra, intriguing color nuances,
sharp details, and a lovely panache of the mane. Bad hair day?
Great shot, my friend. TFS. : )

  • Great 
  • clnaef Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 782 W: 67 N: 651] (6754)
  • [2006-07-10 15:22]

Bonsoir,
La photo noir et blanc allait de soi. Le fond est particulièrement bien adapté au sujet.
Bravo.
clnaef

  • Great 
  • shal Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 270 W: 70 N: 493] (2094)
  • [2006-07-10 16:06]

Hey Alan,
beautiful tones, POV, DOF and framing :)
Cheers TFS,
Vishal Sabharwal

  • Great 
  • Fisher Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1540 W: 309 N: 2234] (8915)
  • [2006-07-10 16:08]

Sir Alan,

Nicely captured and well done on this composition. A hint of Duo tones, well done.

Mike

  • Great 
  • osse Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1029 W: 0 N: 90] (7759)
  • [2006-07-10 16:27]

Hi Alan
Nise B&W shot. Good details and sharpnes. Also great note.
Well done Alan

osse

  • Great 
  • Janice Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3471 W: 145 N: 5989] (17924)
  • [2006-07-10 17:03]

Oh yes! Good one Alan! I like these narrow striped Zebras - they look finer and more dainty I think. Cute shot of the young one especially with his hair blowing all over the place. Good job,
thank you
Janice

  • Great 
  • Dando Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 641 W: 32 N: 791] (3080)
  • [2006-07-10 17:11]

Hi Alan,
Great shot. Excellent sharp details with good exposer. Good lighting and well composed. Very well done and TFS.
Dean.

Hi Alan.
It is a nice arty shot. The monochrome looks great with such a pattern. Good composition, and nice presentation too.
I like it! Thanks for sharing and have anice week :)
Regards, Felipe.

  • Great 
  • radz Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 620 W: 11 N: 625] (3390)
  • [2006-07-11 1:43]

Beautiful shot!Lovely compositon,seems it was relaxing ..TFS!

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2841 W: 75 N: 8090] (27431)
  • [2006-07-11 3:27]

Hi Alan!
Black and white works perfect here! Picture looks like old photo from trip to heart of Africa. Desert mood, heat and zebra :-) I really like it! BTW - frame is also great.

I remember this shot in color. I have to say that B&W works fine, here.
Well managed,

Andrea

Wonderful photo, brilliant composition and POV! TFS - Xplorator Radu

Hi Alan

A beautiful pose. The shot is stunning in B&W. Lovely presentation. Very nice to view. Top shot. Thanks. :-)

Haven't we seen this zebra somewhere before?!
A good second post of this zebra. Black & white tone is effective, as is the long frame. Obviously you've cloned out the log in the background which would have spoiled the cleanness of the photo a bit.

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4964 W: 298 N: 4027] (13131)
  • [2006-07-11 5:30]

Hello Alan,
Excellent B&W work again.POV,details,framingipose of zebra nad composition are wonderful.
TFS...:-)

Hi Alan,
Nice photo.
Very good details and sharpness.
TFS Malgosia

  • Great 
  • SkyF Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2390 W: 194 N: 1991] (8113)
  • [2006-07-11 8:12]

Hello Alan,
very nice shot of this zebra. I like the pose and POV. Excellent choise of BW and the tonal range is very good. Excellent framing.
TFS..Sky

Hi Alan,
Great pose, and the pano crop is unusual for this shot but I think it works well. Glad to see someone trying to be more unique. The conversion to B&W is excellent, Nice work!
Scott

A great capture, Alan.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful image.

  • Great 
  • valy67 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1409 W: 53 N: 1929] (5768)
  • [2006-07-11 10:16]

Hi Alan !
Excellent shot of this cute baby ! Details and composition are excellent, as well as this empty BG. The pose of the zebra is nice, and B/W was a very good choice for this shot.Very well done !
valérie.

  • Great 
  • jmp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1836 W: 94 N: 2341] (8407)
  • [2006-07-11 10:58]

Hi Alan,
Great b&w shot. Very beautiful pose you have captured!
TFS, José M.

Hello Alan,
Lovely shot! It's very good technically and interesting too. Great choice of colours and overall, great shot.
WELL DONE!

Hello Alan,
this is very nice capture with great b/w colours, lighting and sharpness/POV. Very good composition. Thank you for posting.
Gr.
Heinz

very good photo Alan,
you become a profi and thats mean as a compliment, good composition, good quality, very nice job.
gr. jaap

Hey Alan,
Those racing stripes look great in B&W, I like it..
Lovely job with this :)
Cheers,
Howard

Hi Alan,
Good shot! I like the pose of the zebra. Your use of b&w is great as it emphasizes the black and white stripes. Good DOF and composition with more space to the left. Well done!
Claudia

Hi Alan...

Magnificent composition.
Just inthe perfect time to take it.


TFS
Alejandro

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