Ancient

Drifting through the mountains I found myself once more in an unexpected place, where ancients roam, and the clouds never seem to rest. Overcast, moody, feeling weak beneath the pounding, relentless heat of the noon day sun. I stood in awe as I stood so close to the behemoth before me, imagination seeming to step from the land of make believe and into the waking world. The titan sat silently, ignoring my presence, what could I do to such a being? Nothing, of course, nothing but immortalize the image of the animal stood before me.

I spent my weekend studying photography in a more personal way, portraiture, landscape, and wildlife. While this was shot at the Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee, I feel accomplished. Unfortunately, I am unable to travel to Africa for such magical shots, and with that being said, learning to work within an environment such as this to compose a image that doesn’t quite give away what’s really going on presents its own challenges. Even with all of that, its well worth the visit.

To find the composition behind the heavy gates, and steel cables, one must be careful with your zoom, your elevation, and your tilt. Then of course, you’ll find you still need to crop the final image. I did try and capture the whole Rhino here, but unfortunately I was unable to gain access to the viewing platform for a more complete shot. With that being said, I found the editing process to be unexpectedly simple from this point, simple darkening of the background, adding some contrast on the subject, and color correcting to give the scene a more “This could of been anywhere” look. At the end of the day, it takes a little patience, but once you have your shot lined up, you can make miracles happen.

Until Next Time!

Aperture: f4.6
ISO: 160
SS: 1/250th
Focal: 111mm

Fujinon 100-400mm