Jaswant Madhavan
August 2026 - Young Male Elephant
About the Image(s)
This was a young male elephant that walked towards us at Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe. Initially, there were signs of aggression, but as we stood still and ignored him, the elephant settled down and seemed to want to play a game of hide-and-seek, hiding behind a small tree hardly big enough to hide his massive body and then peering around the trunk to see if we could see him! At least that is what i am inclined to think he was doing.
Canon R5 Mk I, 70-200 @ 200 mm ISO 125, 1/500 @ f4.5
Cropped, and contrast, dodging, and burning were applied to bring out the textures on the elephant and tree.
5 comments posted
Jaswant,
I had to study this image for a while to clearly discern the distinction between the elephant and the tree - maybe that is your intention. If not, I maybe increase the visual separation a bit with contrast between the two objects. Posted: 08/03/2026 16:59:30
I had to study this image for a while to clearly discern the distinction between the elephant and the tree - maybe that is your intention. If not, I maybe increase the visual separation a bit with contrast between the two objects. Posted: 08/03/2026 16:59:30
I can appreciate the artsy effect that you are striving for. But I do find the tones too similar. And you are showing more tree than elephant. I would suggest a crop between the 2 halves of the tree where it appears to split.
You have captured great texture on the trunk of the elephant and just enough of the eye showing. Posted: 08/03/2026 17:44:13
You have captured great texture on the trunk of the elephant and just enough of the eye showing. Posted: 08/03/2026 17:44:13
I absolutely love this image Posted: 08/09/2026 06:01:00
Very nice capture. I would have liked to see the top of the elephant's head. This B/W treatment help focussing on the texture differences between the tree and the animal.
Very artistic.
Decreasing the saturation on the original color image, without a full B/W conversion, might be helpful in creating more contrast between the 2 subjects, but I really like it like this.
A keeper. Posted: 08/12/2026 15:05:02
Very artistic.
Decreasing the saturation on the original color image, without a full B/W conversion, might be helpful in creating more contrast between the 2 subjects, but I really like it like this.
A keeper. Posted: 08/12/2026 15:05:02
This is a great capture and i think the BnW really helps with the image. I think that this a beautiful photo and I have no notes. Posted: 08/18/2026 00:49:29