Not a Word About My Face

Gallery: WildlifePosted May 4, 201189 views6 comments

Olympus E-5, 12-60mm at 50mm, laying on ground
f14, 1/250, iSO200

Adult male Elephant Seal, just starting to molt. Taken at Gold Harbor, South Georgia Island.

Cropped out a few King Penguins and red parkas in the upper left, probably 80% of full frame. Slight lightening of his left eye. Selective sharpening of seal.

These guys pass astonishing volumes of eye-watering bad gas. I attribute any softness in the photo to blurred vision.

C & C, please. Thanks for looking.

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Guy Runco on May 4, 2011 at 11:43 PM

Cool shot Jim - nice color and it looks plenty sharp to my eye. I usually prefer the subject to be gazing into rather than out of the shot, but it works here. Sounds like you may need to take along a gas mask next time !

Registered on September 9, 2008, 77 Posts, 705 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on May 5, 2011 at 12:31 PM

Hey Jim,

Great follow-up caption with this "only a mother could love" face!! As one who has worked with aquatic mammals a fair amount I can relate to the gas (what is it with aquatic mammals?? - foul-smelling things!!). I'm totally fine with the composition here, and I particularly like how the angle you shot it at really shows the "jelly-like" protoplasm nature of the body (this guy just flows into the ground!). I wasn't there so this is a guess - but I'm wondering if slightly warming up the main subject a little would add even a little more appeal to this shot? Just a thought...

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on May 5, 2011 at 10:45 PM

I think this is a pleasing and interesting image as posted. I like the quality of your detail, so your selective processing must be just right! The low perspective and in your face pose make this quite nice.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on May 6, 2011 at 3:34 PM

Maybe what you smelled is this guy reeking of ambition. Love the low pov, Jim. Textures and tones are all there, too.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on May 9, 2011 at 8:09 AM

That large horizontal nose wrinkle sure makes ya smile Jim, a face within a face..
Fun image, it's a real "gas"

Well done!

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on May 20, 2011 at 2:40 PM

I was going back and reviewing and found this. Wonderful title, interesting to hear about the gas and a very compelling image, nice job in getting this, entertaining, well done.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments