Elephant and Mt Kilimanjaro by David Lazar

Thursday, 6th November 2008

Elephant and Mt Kilimanjaro

by David Lazar

A classic image from East Africa – an elephant in the foreground and the snow capped Mt Kilamanjaro in the background. While the mountain is in Tanzania across the border, it can be viewed clearly from Amboseli, Kenya, where the weather and conditions are hot and dry.
This elephant is wading through a swamp and eating the grass as it goes.

Equipment: Nikon D70s

David Lazar

I’m a photographer from Brisbane, Australia – and one of the joys for me (outside my musical profession) is travelling and capturing moments of life and beauty through photography.
My favourite styles of photography: Portraiture and landscape. Also, in general, I prefer shots which contain an element of ‘cannot be captured exactly again’; that is expressive people shots, action shots and any scenario with a unique aspect to it.

david_lazar

27 Comments

Steph Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 1:28 am
This is so beautiful, really gives the feeling of being there.
Anurag Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 7:09 am
WoW. the first impression one gets is that the Elephant is kneeling down.
Polarizer to reduce the distant haze could have helped
Pauline Jones Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Absolute classic.
omar franco Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 9:35 am
wonderful! you got it right! (=

try to keep straight horizonts, just my 20 cents
Tom Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Great photo. I would like to go there!
Bruce Emery Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Nice capture fellow Ausie I use the same camera.
Malta Photography Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Very nice natural capture. Great shot as ever and very rewarding. one of kind image composition.
ziggy Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Hey David thanks for my new screen wallpaper! Elephants are my favourite beings, and this photo captures this awesome child of nature faultlessly – right down to the long eyelashes! Beautiful detail from a distance. It’s funny when you look at it quickly, you’d think that bird is riding on the elephant’s tusk.
Aruna Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Just an amazing shot, congratulations. Hmm, I have a second hobby of music in addition to photography, but my profession is in software. This is the type of photography inspires me to get out and shoot again. Thank You.
Renee Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Classic indeed!! Nice capture!
planet lover Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Very nice picture of an elephant in a natural environment. It’s so sad to see them caged in zoos or working as circus props! I loved the mountain too!
Joyce Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Great picture Dave !
Pay no attention to the critics
Eileen Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Great shot, making a new path. Good show.EZ
Marie Dunphy Harding Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
I see a great creature ‘in the moment.’
Dennis Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Great composition. I like the shot. Too bad about the tilted horizon!
Nick Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Great shot – horizon issue can be fixed with photoshop. Curious to know your position when the shot was taken, in an aircraft or on a hill? Seeing that the elephant was in a swamp, how did you achieve the angle?
Kirk Jordan Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
The Horizon line looks just fine, given the downward angle and the fact that the left-most part of the picture is farther in the distance. If you were to make the horizon parallel to the top and bottom of the frame the elephant would appear to be slogging downhill. I think your eye got it right.
Michael Ray Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Nice shot!! I didn’t even notice the horizon line until reading the comments. But, I think I like the tilted horizon. It brings more of an artistic view. Plus, I dont think straight horizons work best for every image you create.
The image does give the illusion of the bird ridding on his tusk. I would agree about the polarizer though. Congrats on the POD.
Srirama Raja Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Great picture.
a. Says:
November 7th, 2008 at 12:25 am
So peaceful. We really need to preserve this nature.
David Lazar Says:
November 7th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Anurag – Maybe you have’t been on a safari but you generally don’t have time to pull out a polarising filter and screw it on while an elephant is walking towards you and Mt Kilimanjaro is in full frame without clouds around it…
If you did you’d no doubt miss a lot of wildlife shots.
Su Says:
November 7th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
It doesnt matter to me whether this is technically right or wrong, I for one would never have seen this lovely creature without Davids POTD
Darlene Sy Says:
November 8th, 2008 at 3:29 am
Very lovely
Anurag Says:
November 8th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Maybe what one can do is keep a polarizer pre-screwed onto the lense, if one sees a lot of mist or haze. In the afternoon and with the high ISO capability of todays cameras one can afford a little bit of light loss. Just 2 cents of constructive criticism. I didn’t mean to be negative.
and Of course if you are open to photoshopping, another workaround is to take a shot later with the polarizer, when the elephant is gone and then merge the two files later in photoshop.

All said, a great image *as It is*, and congratulations again!
Ellie Says:
November 9th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
What magnificence in the FG and the BKGD! Awesome catch….waht marvelous animals! Thank you for this visit to Africa!
Su Says:
November 6th, 2009 at 9:48 am
Wonderful sight.
renee Says:
November 6th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
The background is amazing!