Incredible picture from Thailand

[berettafan]

Fellow posted this up in a Fuji camera group i follow on FB. His name on FB is Obra Ni Ata.

Wowed by so much in this photo. The image itself and the subject....what a world we live in!

[masraum]

Very cool.

[Baz]

Beautiful! Thanks, BF.

As far as I'm concerned - anything with animals or young children make great photos.

[Steve Carlton]

Outstanding!

[David]

Awesome picture. I never have learned to master a camera so I just stick with Iphone pics. I can confirm that elephants are one of the most amazing animals on earth!

Pic taken in Thailand:

[John Rogers]

In the last cruise I made before I retired from the US Navy in 1984 I had a couple days off and decided to ride my bicycle from the Thai Navy base to Pattaya Beach (about 40 miles) and at some point I was in the wild part of the country when I heard some crashing and banging off to my left. So I stopped and pedaled a tad bit down a dirt road and there they were....elephants using their forehead to push over a tree and then grab it with their trunk to move it. Guys with huge two man saws were cutting off the exposed root/trunk section and then the log would be lifted onto a truck! I watched it for 20 minutes or so, really neat!
John

[herr_oberst]

Beautiful picture. Subject, composition, technical expertise all working together. Photography at it's best.

I'd also like to offer a suggestion to those of us that would love to ride an elephant; I dated a woman who was an absolute animal lover. When she was telling me about her sightseeing trip to Africa I asked if she had ridden an elephant while she was there, and quickly got an education on the many ways that that was a terrible thing to do to those animals and how we should try and educate others on the reasons. Therefore, I will gently offer a suggestion that we all educate ourselves about what is involved with preparing these magnificent beasts for tourists. It's kind of sad, and it's really not necessary. I'll get off my soapbox, but I'll leave one link in case anyone is interested.

https://www.worldnomads.com/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/planet/why-elephant-riding-should-be-removed-from-your-list

[john70t]

It;s unfortunate to think about, but humans control most of the earth.
Large animals which have no traditional value or tourist income or protected government land quickly become food or specialized 'medicine' or used for accessorys.
Like sensitive pachyderms, horses has done well in synchronicity.
Living alongside them is a feat.

In the wild, Bulls will create a lot of damage during their musth season and are fearless.
'Tamed' elephants are also highly intelligent but often abused.

It is a difficult situation.

[berettafan]

All good points. My wife rained on my parade quickly as well. My response...and maybe it's a bit lame, was that at least the animal has an economic value other than as an ivory donor. Not sure i'd feel so good about that if I looked further into how elephants are treated.

[Z-man]

Beautiful composition. Love how the subject of the shot is offset below center. The rays of light draws you down into it.

Someone knows how to compose a picture for sure!

Thanks for sharing it!

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by john70t

It;s unfortunate to think about, but humans control most of the earth.
Large animals which have no traditional value or tourist income or protected government land quickly become food or specialized 'medicine' or used for accessorys.
Like sensitive pachyderms, horses has done well in synchronicity.
Living alongside them is a feat.

In the wild, Bulls will create a lot of damage during their musth season and are fearless.
'Tamed' elephants are also highly intelligent but often abused.

It is a difficult situation.

Interesting to see this as I joined the International Funds for Animal Welfare recently and they have a focus on elephants.

[LWJ]

Awesome pic!

Yes. Elephants are not really for riding.

[stevej37]

More elephant stuff....

This elephant was up to the... tusk �� The animal returned a child’s shoe after it fell into its zoo enclosure in eastern China pic.twitter.com/MZb0qJpo3B

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) August 17, 2022

[David]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Beautiful picture. Subject, composition, technical expertise all working together. Photography at it's best.

I'd also like to offer a suggestion to those of us that would love to ride an elephant; I dated a woman who was an absolute animal lover. When she was telling me about her sightseeing trip to Africa I asked if she had ridden an elephant while she was there, and quickly got an education on the many ways that that was a terrible thing to do to those animals and how we should try and educate others on the reasons. Therefore, I will gently offer a suggestion that we all educate ourselves about what is involved with preparing these magnificent beasts for tourists. It's kind of sad, and it's really not necessary. I'll get off my soapbox, but I'll leave one link in case anyone is interested.

https://www.worldnomads.com/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/planet/why-elephant-riding-should-be-removed-from-your-list

I do have mixed emotions about riding them. It’s an incredible experience but they’re not doing it because they want to. The place we road them in Kanchanaburi did seem to treat them well and was a very large area but my wife and I have agreed we won’t ride elephants again.

After the ride, we were feeding the elephant bananas when my wife said I should tip the elephant handler more. He was sitting on the elephant so I started to reach up to him with some money when my wife said just give it to the elephant so I did. For a brief moment the elephant started to put the money in his mouth but then handed it up to the handler. Pretty smart.