Elephants – Page 6 – Jennifer Sawicky Photography

September 29, 2019

2019-09-29: Photo Art – The Magnificent Seven

This post was originally going to be the big five, but I had images of cheetah and wild dog that I wanted to play around with, so the magnificent seven it is.

One of the reasons I wanted to focus on my photo art this month was to try and learn a bit more about Topaz Studio version 2. I’ve played around with it a bit, and watched some tutorials, but for the workflow I am using, at this stage I will be sticking with version 1. The issue that I was finding is I can’t get files to make a round trip using On1 Photo Raw. I can get the file into Studio 2, and work on it, but the only option for saving is an “Accept” button, which with the workflow I am using, appears to do nothing. I select it, but the file doesn’t get saved, exported or anything else. New software versions are typically a bit buggy, so I’ll give it a few update cycles and then play around with it again and see what happens.

One of the great things about photo editing tutorials is getting the little reminders for things that are outside of the normal workflow. In this case, the reminder was to play around with blending modes when using AI Remix, Impression and textures. For example, the cheetah image below was edited using (amongst other tools) a filter in AI Remix called Neon Rise. But changing the blend mode from normal to luminosity kept the amazing texture that the filter offered, but eliminated the wild and crazy colours for something far more subdued, and suited to the image.

I hope you enjoy the selections below. Wishing you a fantastic week ahead.

You can find some of these images in the Photo Art section of my gallery.

September 11, 2019

2019-09-11: Wordless Wednesday

August 26, 2019

2019-08-26: Monochrome Monday

It’s no secret that I love elephants, and that I love editing elephant images in black and white. Here are a few from my most recent travels. I hope they brighten up your Monday 🙂

DSCF2572 copy-Edit — This little elephant was precocious and kept all of us laughing and smiling as he played with sticks and branches, tossing them over his head.

DSCF3044 — A mama guiding her young calf across the road to join the rest of the herd.

DSCF3718 — Another adorable youngster; this one was very inquisitive and spent lots of time near the vehicle, seeing what we were all about.

XT3X3671 — A large bull elephant in musth. Our guide was very cautious as this guy approached us on the road, but the elephant turned off into the bushes, after giving his head a dramatic shake at us.

XT3X4281 — Drinks stop while Mom graves.

August 12, 2019August 12, 2019

2019-08-12: World Elephant Day 2019

Instead of my weekly monochrome Monday post, I decided to share some of my favourite elephant images, in honour of World Elephant Day.

May these beautiful animals roam in peace 🙂

A pair of elephants moving down a road.

A herd of elephants in Amboseli.

Elephants galore in this multiple exposure image.

My favourite baby elephant, testing to see if sand is good eating. 1/640sec, f9.0, ISO 2000

Elephants marching one by one.

An adorable baby elephant trying to make itself look big and threatening.

Elephants are my favourite animal to spend time with on safari, so feel free to search my site for elephants to find other posts about these majestic giants, or take a look at the gallery.

July 28, 2019

2019-07-28: Babies in the bush – Elephants

I saved my favourite for last for my final instalment of July’s topic – Babies in the bush. I was actually so spoiled for choice with images of baby elephants that it was difficult to select which images to share. I’m not complaining, it is definitely a good problem to have!

On all of the properties we visited, the elephant sightings were prolific; so much so that a couple of our guides even commented about the volume of elephants sightings that we were having, and how lucky we were. There were moments that no matter which direction you looked, you were surrounded by elephants. And when we carried on down a road to see what else we could see, around every bend in the road, there were more. Being in the presence of these magnificent animals brings me such a feeling of peace and joy, so you’ll never hear me complain about seeing too many elephants while out on safari.

You can’t help but smile while watching baby elephants. They have so much personality, and are often very precocious and curious. You’ll often see them mock charging vehicles trying to be big and tough, playing with sticks and branches in the bush, tussling with their little friends, having a temper tantrum when something isn’t going their way, or playing shy, hiding between Mom and other larger, more confident elephants.

I hope you enjoy my selections for the week 🙂

DSCF0568 — A bit of follow the leader down on of the roads through the bush.

DSCF1470 — Pausing for a quick drink of milk in the middle of the road.

DSCF2508 copy-Edit — A herd of elephants digging in the dry riverbed for the water hidden underground. Look at the tiny baby tucked up against its Mom; still small enough to clear under her belly.

DSCF3708 — There were several occasions on this trip where I ended up in the midst of enormous elephants herds; it didn’t matter which direction you looked, there would be many elephants to watch and take pictures of. Here is one of those moments with elephants as far as the eye could see, with lots of youngsters in the mix.

DSCF3894 — A pair of youngsters playing while the rest of the herd grazed all around them.

XT3X4263 — It’s a special treat to see elephants that are tiny enough to still be taking cover under their Mom’s tummy.

July 1, 2019

2019-07-01: Monochrome Monday

Happy Canada day to my friends and family. I know I should have been out capturing the beauty of my own country, but the day has been pretty rainy and miserable, so instead, I offer you today a trio of baby elephants.

Wishing everyone a fantastic week ahead!

DSCF3042 — The tenderness shown towards the baby elephants is heartwarming, every time I experience it.

June 23, 2019

2019-06-23: Mamas and babies in the bush

I was fortunate to see lots of youngsters during my latest travels. While the young elephants are definitely my favourite to watch, especially when they start waving their tiny trunks around trying to act tough, all the young animals in the bush are a delight to see.

Here are just a few of the sightings that I had.

DSCF2273 copy — A giraffe calf having a late afternoon milk break.

DSCF3002 — We spent some time with this pair of rhinos while they grazed away the early morning. Here the young one had just turned to look as another vehicle was heading in to take over our viewing position. Moments later, the head was back down and he was happily munching on the grass again.

XT3X2902 — A pair of lion cubs suckling.

XT3X3869 copy-Edit — A young leopard doing a very accurate impression of a sulky teenager.

June 12, 2019

2019-06-11: Wordless Wednesday

May 11, 2019

2019-05-11: What I’ve seen this week

Here are some images from the past week of my travels, staying at two properties; Lions Sands River and Tinga Lodges. I have had a wonderful time being back in the bush again! It’s tea time shortly and then off to see what the afternoon has in store, so I will keep this brief.

I hope you enjoy my selections!