Get out of my pond!

What an incredible picture! I really like the water splashing everywhere, and the teal in the bottom corner really adds to the image. I love all the action, the elephant is splashing water everywhere and the teal is trying to get away, it just looks so cool! The larger version looks awesome!

This is great. Glad you explained the scene. My first impression was "run Forest, ruunnnn". Great detail and the splashing water and spread out ears really give the sense of power of this giant. Nicely done.

I've never seen a black elephant before.

The full spread on the ears is great and the teal adds a nice bit of humor. Cool shot, Vincent.

Max

Cool Vincent! I like the flared, slightly angled ears, the roiled water and the teal. I agree with about tweaking the eye area if possible.

This is a terrific action shot. I really like how the dark elephant contrasts with the brightness of the rest of the image. That escaping teal is icing on the cake.

What a magnificent photo Vincent! :^) I love the dark colour the water has created on the bull, the wonderfully fine detail you've captured in the wrinkles and folds that also accentuate the veins in his handsomely spread ears, the frozen splashes of muddy water and, to top it all off that tiny Teal paddling for all it's worth to get the hell out of the way - LOL ;^)

Thanks for spreading such a big smile across my face :^)

All the best,

Ashley

Poor duckling! This definitely made me laugh ! Great shot, loads of energy.

An action packed image, very well captured ! I find the teal, very cool in this situation.
I too wish that light wasn't so harsh.
Jagdeep Rajput

It may seem 'disturbed' perhaps, but I assure you it was all but disturbed.

I see the whole debate has left quite an impression.

Awesome action, and the harsh light doesn't really bother me that much. With action shots all the attention goes to the action and we tend to not pay much attention to the circumstances. Just look at news photographs - they're very seldomly shot in ideal lighting conditions and the compositions are never ideal. Had this elephant just been standing in the water, the light would be a much more important factor. The teal is a real bonus.

I do wish you had shot this with a faster shutter speed though and more dof. Not only would the teal be sharper, but also the splashing water.

Without the teal this would be a great action photo, but with the teal makes it an awesome photo. Excellent work Vincent

Ken Archer

Great work Vincent. This is certainly an image that makes me smile. Terrific action and detail. Congrats.

This is a great action shot, Vincent. I really like the composition with the ears filling the frame. The little teal appearing to be swimming for it's life is a huge bonus.

I love the head-on shot. Great sense of power,

Love the action here--great subject and a great moment! I hate to disagree with someone as talented as Marsel, but my instinct is the opposite here--im wondering if a slower shutter speed might have worked better. Ordinarily im a big fan of fast freeze-action water shots, but it makes this image more static IMO. I think even sacrificing some of the elephants clarity might have been worth it; motion blur here would make this more dyanamic IMHO. But i have little experience with wildlife action shots, so that's just a thought...

Very powerful image.

The teal probably thought runaway freight train. Love that it is in the image. Apart from the stance, water motion, and just plain enormous proportions, the elephant's hide is enhanced by the wet look and that is what makes my eye wander back and forth through the image. Can't get enough of the absolute feel of leather here.

Nice action photo, Vincent. In the beginning I didn´t realize about the teal but I think it gives the image a good reference to notice the size of the elephant. The teal running away recalls me the images about the tsunami in Japan.

Great shot this. I can imagine how it feels being there especially with a large mammal like a elephant, what this image cannot brings across is the thundering sound of trumpeting and splash of water, rest all comes across nicely in fine detail. I would love to see a warmer version of this.

Excellent, Vincent !!! Very, very cool shot.
Mauro

It works well. I really like the relative size perspective provided by the teal.

Amazing image. I love all the action and the little grebe fleeing from it. Lovely details.

Hi Vincent, great shot of an Ele in water and yes the teal adds a lot - scale and drama !! I like the separation you got between the ele and the background at f5,6 any more dof I think would have had a negative effect, nice one, cheers Stu

The photo's over all impression is very very strong. Just look at the size of this creature and the huge wet ears, amazing. The churned up water, swinging trunk, duck fleeing for his life are bonus. Are the tusks normal, they seem rather blunted or broken??? ( I know zip about elephants, or their tusks).