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War Paint
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War Paint



This guy means business. Captured in Etosha in 2016. It was a scorching day and I was on my up to Pans Edge. I came across this guy standing alone. It looked l...
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This guy means business. Captured in Etosha in 2016. It was a scorching day and I was on my up to Pans Edge. I came across this guy standing alone. It looked like he had painted himself with camo or war paint, ready for something big ahead. I loved how the greenish-grey mud contrasted on his grey skin with a cyan sky in the background. One of my favourites.
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cameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III

settings Aperture f/20 ISO 125 Shutter 1/125 Focal Length 200/1 

locationNamibia

upload_dateMay, 2017

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3263

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9 Comments | Report
jackapowers Platinum
 
jackapowers May 09, 2017
He does look a little angry...
MKPhotographysa PRO
MKPhotographysa May 14, 2017
The thorn bushes in front gave me a false sense of safety, but he was relatively clam, or so it seemed.
Soleiburgess
 
Soleiburgess June 07, 2017
Wow
MKPhotographysa PRO
MKPhotographysa June 08, 2017
:) Thanks!
edandaniphone PRO+
 
edandaniphone July 27, 2017
Wonderful.
mikedemmingsphoto
 
mikedemmingsphoto March 05, 2018
Beautiful creature and wonderful picture.
richpitt
 
richpitt March 06, 2018
Nice photograph.
MKPhotographysa PRO
 
MKPhotographysa March 12, 2018
Gentle giant
marcbaechtold
 
marcbaechtold May 13, 2018
cool photograph with nice details and good contrasts, keep shooting!
andrevondeling
 
andrevondeling February 16, 2019
Impressive!
PhotographybyTessa
 
PhotographybyTessa September 28, 2019
Stunning I love elephants

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Tags

#elephant #mud #etosha #Game Park #blue sky #Cyan Sky #cyan #mud onelephant #etosha #namibia #thorns #tusks
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Behind The Lens

Location
In 2016 I decided to take a solo trip through South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia and Botswana. It was a bit of a soul searching trip and a break from the TV and film industry. This photo was taken in beautiful Etosha, Namibia.
Time
We all know that twice a day magic hour happens. Although during this time you’d most likely want to shoot with the sun backlighting your subject, this one was just before sunset and front lit.
Lighting
What made it special was the contrast created by the dark stormy clouds forming behind the subject, and an Etosha sunset that front lit the subject and highlighted the textures of his skin. This in combination with the “war paint” he had applied earlier that day made for in unforgettable moment. Extra special lighting, for an extra special moment with this magnificent beast.
Equipment
Simply just my Canon 5D MIII and a EF70-200mm Canon f/2.8 IS II USM. I was in my vehicle so it was handheld as well.
Inspiration
Literally how everything came together. A magnificent subject, with beautiful lighting in a location that exists on many photographers bucket lists. I hope it inspires other photographers to visit Etosha and more than that I hope it inspires all of us to protect these animals.
Editing
Post processing was minimal. Lightroom did the trick and I applied more contrast and clarity. A touch of saturation in general and pushing the blue tones in the darker areas.
In my camera bag
I’ve since swapped to Nikon and at the moment I have a Nikon D850 with a AFS Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 FL ED and a Tamron SP 15-30mm. I also have a set of NiSi ND Filters( 10 stop, 6 stop, soft grad 9, HD Polarizer and a circular polarizer) I have an extra battery, extra memory card, a tripod, and very importantly a decent lens cleaning kit. For longer trips I’ll always take my laptop and a spare external drive to make backups at the end of the day.
Feedback
The beauty of photography is that each and every photography you capture is completely 100% unique. Even if you had to take the same photograph; the day, the photographer, the lighting, the subject, the angle, the focal length, and the experience will all differ, even if it is slight. Resulting in an image that has never been captured before and never ever will. That’s the ultimate beauty of it all. So to capture your unique version get to Etosha in Namibia, head out at least an hour or two before magic hour and find a subject. Don’t be tempted to rush off to find more. Stick with your subject, give it time. Play with some settings and wait. I can gaurentee, that by being patient you’ll eventually be rewarded with a stunning image.

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