Commons:Featured picture candidates/File:Addo Elephants-001.jpg

File:Addo Elephants-001.jpg, not featured edit

Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes.Voting period ends on 1 Mar 2013 at 16:46:13 (UTC)
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Info created by Leo za1 - uploaded by Leo za - nominated by NJR ZA -- NJR_ZA (talk) 16:46, 20 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Abstain -- I have read the comments on the other elephant nominations and asked for this one to be uploaded. Interested to see how it is received. NJR_ZA (talk) 16:46, 20 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Comment I've been following the comments here and on the discussion page and looks like there is a strong push for exceptional quality/composition/behavior for FP promotion. I think this is a particularly good shot (I love the light and the water) but the close crop, the harsh shadows and the angle could be better. Perhaps not a FP for me, but I'll watch for other comments before I decide on a vote. -- ~y (talk) 17:45, 20 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comment Thanks for the feedback. I'll comment on it so we can possibly later use this FP discussion if the rules are to be strengthened, but please accept the comments for what they are, just comments; they are not an attempt to justify that this should be FP or an attempt to excuse shortcomings in the photo. Crop: Yes it does seem a bit tight, especially at the top. If I recall the original correctly it should be possible to recrop and if required I will ask the photographer for a new version for comparison. Shadows: Not sure how one would avoid shadows in nature photography without undue post processing of the photo. Elephants are big and make big shadows. Angle: Yes, angle is high (this specific viewpoint is high above the waterhole), that may or may not be an issue, I suspect the angle will come down to personal taste rather than a hard rule. --NJR_ZA (talk) 18:29, 20 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comment It's always good to have a discussion :). When shooting at an animal below eye-level, the ground usually becomes the background, especially for high angles and the ground rarely makes for a nice photograph. Of course, it's a personal preference. The shadows in wildlife photography is more complex topic as it too depends on the angle of the photographer, position of the sun, time of the day/year, season and latitude! I feel that in this particular photo, the sun is making very dark shadows and different position or a later time of day could have helped in avoiding the strong shadow. EXIF says the time the photo was taken was 14:44 when the harshest shadows are made in tropics/sub-tropics. I also know from experience that herds with calves come to water around midday, so there's little to do except wait for some luck with the clouds to diffuse the light so that there's no harsh shadows. I think it is actually difficult to get a good/interesting photograph of an elephant even though they are so common (like I had commented on a previous FPC)! At first look, Angie Scott's 2002 wildlife photographer of the year photograph of elephants watching a grey heron looks ordinary but I think it is incredibly rare to see something so perfect like that (at least from personal experience in the African savanna). -- ~y (talk) 19:02, 20 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I could only track down a small version of the Angie Scott photo you mentioned; too small to see real detail, but the scene she managed to capture certainly is impressive. Problem is that is a Photo of the Year selected from a huge amount taken by professional photographers. If set the bar that high every FP then we will end up selecting only 1 FP a year. That will dry up the supply for Potd and make Poty obsolete. --NJR_ZA (talk) 19:51, 20 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I only brought up Scott's picture as an example of how rare it is to get good elephant (and ONLY elephant) shots and not as something to compare FPC. I'm sorry if my comment seemed to imply about comparison with the top professionals in the world. I know that this is a fantastic picture because I almost exclusively photograph wildlife and know the difficulties. I just feel that it could have been better had it been a different time of day and different angle. ~y (talk) 20:10, 20 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

OK, accepted as such. I'm on CAT, so will be off to bed soon, but will check back tomorrow for additional comments. --NJR_ZA (talk) 20:21, 20 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Btw, I think a lot of Featured Pictures are fantastic enough to be compared with the top professionals. There are some amazing pictures here. :) ~y (talk) 20:12, 20 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I uploaded a alternative versions, File:Addo Elephants-001 (b).jpg.--ArildV (talk) 19:00, 20 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I see what you did there, will allow others to comment first --NJR_ZA (talk) 19:51, 20 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Neutral per Yathin; will support an edit like ArildV's if a more generous crop at bottom available. An interesting moment (behavioral).J Kadavoor J e e 05:28, 21 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose -- A very nice picture with high encyclopaedic value. But neither the angle nor the crop are the best. -- Alvesgaspar (talk) 11:53, 22 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Confirmed results:

Result: 0 support, 1 oppose, 1 neutral → not featured. /George Chernilevsky ^talk 06:07, 27 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]