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Addo Elephants
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Addo Elephants

by Nate Chappell

Gallery: WildlifePosted April 5, 2014132 views7 comments
Addo Elephant National Park as the name suggests is an excellent place to view and photograph African Elephants. There are good sized herds which frequent the waterholes there. The earth there is a red clay which colors particularly the elephants and the numerous warthogs. I liked this image for the layers of elephants - I didn't realize at first there were 4, not 3 in this shot. It's full frame and just a little tight as I clipped the big one's back foot and tail. I had lent out my Sigma 150-500 to one of the participants whose longest lens was a 55-200 so she could get some good bird photos on the tour.

Canon 5D3 500F4 1/1250 F6.3, iso 800, from our safari vehicle.

Comments

7 comments
Comment posted by Brad Hill on April 6, 2014 at 8:48 AM
Hey Nate,

What really strikes me about this shot is the huge disparity in size between the adult (presumably mom) and the little one. I know very little about elephant growth rates, but assuming "Mini Me" here is very young? So cute.

The clipping of the foot and tail is unfortunate but given the layers of elephants it's hard to suggest a crop that would work better - something is going to be cut-off no matter what! I keep looking for a crop that better highlights just mom and junior but can't find one!

Thanks for sharing this...cheers...

Brad
Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments
Comment posted by Jerry Austin on April 6, 2014 at 9:59 AM
I think the baby makes this one for me. It conveys how a herd protects the young. Very nice.
Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on April 6, 2014 at 10:14 AM
What a neat collection of sizes and yes, they do color match the ground very well. Yes, more space bottom and right would be better, but this looks good as presented.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on April 6, 2014 at 3:01 PM
Nice moment from an underrated park, Nate (at least underrated by non-African travelers).
The foot and tail are unfortunate, but the calf is cute!
Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments
Comment posted by Gary Gulash on April 6, 2014 at 3:09 PM
The size disparity between adult and baby really makes this work for me as well, very cool and cute. Throwing a tele onto the 500 and just including the baby and a few legs would have been an interesting option too I think.
Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments
Comment posted by Ken Watkins on April 7, 2014 at 3:27 AM
Nate,
I have to concur with Morkel, a very underrated park, although still quite busy.
Outside of Hwange probably one of the best places for Elephant photography in Africa.
This is a nice family group in a very traditional Elephant pose "muddled"
:biggrin:
Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on April 9, 2014 at 9:13 AM
Same here, thought I was looking at three :smile:
I like the how the adults dwarf the youngster here, don't mind the clip.. much :wink:
Great shot Nate :toast:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments