Who's Boss?

[Steve Kaluski]

• Steve Kaluski
• www.untamedimages.co.uk
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 14.0.1 (Macintosh)

With £7.5k worth of kit on the ground and a few tones of Elephant stomping about in the very late evening light, what could go wrong...?

Subject: Male Elephant
Location: Africa
Camera: Canon EOS R5
Lens: RF 24-70f/2.8 L IS USM
Exposure: 1/3200 at f/9 ISO4000
Original format: Landscape, FF

Thanks to those who viewed or posted a comment on the previous image

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

A little late here Steve, please forgive me. Been without electricity and WIFI since Monday, a cyclone took out a number of electricity poles here on the reserve and contractors not available to come replace them. On data at the moment so just briefly...

Very unusual image in terms of light and colours, love it! There's a glow to this ele that's impossible to achieve unless the right conditions are there...
POV just superb, love the sense of movement and those ears flapping, and oh the dust... just magic! Nice composition and the inclusion of the two eles departing (in such a hurry) adds to the story.

Did you have to clean up your gear after this? I can tell you were fairly close...Probably one of your best images from this trip, well processed with nice detail, love those bits of dust and dirt flying about, super techs, it all works.

Err...you asked what could go wrong...a lot of things could go wrong but I am glad nothing happened, in my experience eles are usually calm and accept human presence to a degree... but I've been chased a couple of times so rather careful.

Many thanks for sharing, I truly enjoyed viewing. Shall be back soon, I promise...

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Ooh... thanks you Alan, wishing you all the very best for 2025 and trust it's both a safe & healthy one.

All the best
Steve

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gabriela, no need for apologies, I could not do what you do and the issues that arise from the Power companies, the day to day running of the Pharmacy, the extensive hours and then squeezing anything left into a 24hr day, just amazing.

Very unusual image in terms of light and colours, love it! There's a glow to this ele that's impossible to achieve unless the right conditions are there...
POV just superb, love the sense of movement and those ears flapping, and oh the dust... just magic! Nice composition and the inclusion of the two eles departing (in such a hurry) adds to the story.

It was a gamble, but in the immortal words of 'Del, he who dares, wins' and this trip was to be something different and to take risks. If you want to know the kit let me know, but will take it again, but I gather from G that there is a cheaper bit of kit that now works better with the new bodies so will see. It was late afternoon so you had that rich, saturated light and so I just had to go for it, 25m away I did get a tad twitchy.

Did you have to clean up your gear after this? I can tell you were fairly close...Probably one of your best images from this trip, well processed with nice detail, love those bits of dust and dirt flying about, super techs, it all works.

I did, but it has to go back to Canon for a deep clean, but then I too got a deep clean if you remember?

I'm not going to preempt re images, but with those tweaks we both made to our cameras I think it has taken on an extra depth with the colour, but let's see.

Err...you asked what could go wrong...a lot of things could go wrong but I am glad nothing happened, in my experience eles are usually calm and accept human presence to a degree... but I've been chased a couple of times so rather careful.

You are totally correct, and it was all very well orchestrated, plus how we did it, where the kit was placed etc and if it was OK to try it, but this youngster was just assuring his authority as he was feeling a bit fruity!!!!

Finally, now I remember what I wanted to say, glad you binned the idea of the BenQ, it will screw your software up and you will have massive issues no end, so yes, stick to your original plans and keep things simple once you are ready to run.

Fingeres crossed you now have electricity, air con and communications to the outside world back on, albeit hit & miss. I trust you get an opportunity to get out and find the 'Boys' you are so lucky. Hopefully we can speak on the 31st.

All the very best for now.

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hi Gabriela, no need for apologies, I could not do what you do and the issues that arise from the Power companies, the day to day running of the Pharmacy, the extensive hours and then squeezing anything left into a 24hr day, just amazing.



It was a gamble, but in the immortal words of 'Del, he who dares, wins' and this trip was to be something different and to take risks. If you want to know the kit let me know, but will take it again, but I gather from G that there is a cheaper bit of kit that now works better with the new bodies so will see. It was late afternoon so you had that rich, saturated light and so I just had to go for it, 25m away I did get a tad twitchy.



I did, but it has to go back to Canon for a deep clean, but then I too got a deep clean if you remember?

I'm not going to preempt re images, but with those tweaks we both made to our cameras I think it has taken on an extra depth with the colour, but let's see.



You are totally correct, and it was all very well orchestrated, plus how we did it, where the kit was placed etc and if it was OK to try it, but this youngster was just assuring his authority as he was feeling a bit fruity!!!!

Finally, now I remember what I wanted to say, glad you binned the idea of the BenQ, it will screw your software up and you will have massive issues no end, so yes, stick to your original plans and keep things simple once you are ready to run.

Fingeres crossed you now have electricity, air con and communications to the outside world back on, albeit hit & miss. I trust you get an opportunity to get out and find the 'Boys' you are so lucky. Hopefully we can speak on the 31st.

All the very best for now.

Steve, thank you so much, BTW I got home late this afternoon because of one of those 'fruity fellows'...he did not chase me but sat in the middle of the road, back towards me... so no photos...No alternative road so I sat there with a book until he decided to move on

 

[Steve Kaluski]

You can’t rush a ‘big old unit…’

 

[Jonathan Ashton]

It's a super shot, if you can afford to lose your kit why not? If you can't then don't - simple!

 

[Steve Kaluski]

True Jon, but there is always Insurance, but the gamble paid off and technology won.