My Precious! Photo

Photographer’s Note

Here's a wild Red Colobus monkey on the island of Zanzibar, Tanzania. I was exploring the Jozani Forest, and was lucky enough to see them all playing, eating and interacting, and not afraid of my presence. It meant I could get in very close to capture their actions and emotive faces - such as this one eating some leaves of a plant. Although he may not look like a monkey to interupt as he devours the plant, he really was very friendly.

AROBN54, dareco, Wanda1, cknara, japiey, patdeph, trekks, fabio_ts, Wandering_Dan, jusninasirun, noborders, bakes888, Bluejeans, skippy007, abulafia, siolaw has marked this note useful

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AROBN54 (10797) 2008-05-14 21:47

It's wonderful, David!
To get such marvelous detail on the monkey and such fabulous BG blurring is incredible. Wonderful colors and sharpness, great expression and even a catchlight in its eye! Wow, this is a beautiful shot! Many thanks and kindest wishes,
Shelly

Dang, I just looked over it again and the composition is just amazingly good, too. What a shot!

Wanda1 (11025) 2008-05-14 21:53

Hey David,
Another great portrait of these creatures. He does indeed have an expression of and look a bit like gollum. Love the detail on the fur and the hands, and you have a nice tight composition.
Regards
Wanda

ccameraguy (317) 2008-05-14 21:56

Wonderful image David. I really like the pose you captured from the corner down. Sharp and clear image of the fellow enjoying his snack!

cknara (567) 2008-05-14 22:05

Great expressions!!..You have taken at the decisive moment.
Color & contrast are all fantastic.

Kudos for your job..

JessicaK26 (18) 2008-05-14 22:12 [Comment]

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tho_ebert (872) 2008-05-15 0:00

Hi David,
The title is perfect for his expression! Very good idea!
I love your shot almost as much than Tolkien :)
TFS
Thomas

japiey (9531) 2008-05-15 1:56

Hi DL,

Excellent image.
Fine details....
This really excites ....
All the best.

jp

dareco (17104) 2008-05-15 2:41

I'm wondering how long you had to sit and watch this monkey to be able to capture a pose like this. Really great!! And the colors and detail are fabulous. He looks a little scarey to me, I'm surprised he was friendly. TFS

patdeph (18590) 2008-05-15 5:01

hello David
very funny title for a very good picture!The light,the colours,the sharpness are really good,and the expression of this monkey doesn't seem friendly at all!I like very much the spark of light in its eyes,and the colours of this eye makes a nice harmony with the head hair!Very well done,I like very much.
Have a nice day.
Pascale

trekks (14336) 2008-05-15 5:31

hi David

I must say this is a great shot, very pensive pose and really a good moment's capture. Very strong character displayed. I like the color tone and contrast of hair.

tfs, bill

fabio_ts (13674) 2008-05-15 7:41

Ciao Dave, a strong impact picture here, a wonderful crop makes this composition really attractive, colors, details and quality are on the top, compliments!!

have a nice day,
Fabio.

Wandering_Dan (3325) 2008-05-15 8:09

Hi, David -

Yes, he does look like Gollum! And you got not only a very sharp closeup, but a funny one. I remember these monkeys well; after we were warned that they might be shy, that we might not even see them, we walked into the forest and within 2 minutes they were right on top of us!

Best,
Dan

jusninasirun (10361) 2008-05-15 18:37

Hello David. This picture is amazingly sharp. I like the vivid detail of the image and the expression. Well captured and framed beautifully. Thanks for sharing and best regards. Jusni

SteveH (4025) 2008-05-15 21:48

Hi David, great portrait of this attractive looking monkey. As you say, he looks like isn't going to be happy to be disturbed. Sure to earn lots of macacas :-). cheers, Steve

noborders (14201) 2008-05-16 2:30

You have certainly a talent to photography wildlife and you found a great model ! nice closeup,
Compliments,
Cath.

bakes888 (18353) 2008-05-17 0:55

Hi Dave. Must have been quite a thrill being so close to wild monkeys going about there normal lives. Excellent capture. You got the focus spot on with good colours and of coarse a natural pose. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

Bluejeans (33391) 2008-05-17 4:36

Ola David,
Ficou linda esta tua foto de natureza selvagem , os detalhes as cores estão fantásticas , gostei muito dos olhos do macaco ,parabéns!!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

skippy007 (7449) 2008-05-19 2:08

Hi Dave, excellent image, sharp, clear, colourful & very expressive. Doesn't look too friendly but will take your word for it.
Thanks
Santo

abulafia (4802) 2008-05-19 6:45

Good title, Looks exactly like him:)
A good close up David, and judging from the picture it is difficult to imagine that was very friendly.
Harry

devimeuxbe (56532) 2008-05-19 9:18

Hi Savid
The face of the Colobus is so expressive. You captured it very well and also the sharpness is perfect.
Nice animal portrait
Bertrand

crckt (7102) 2008-05-22 13:11

Hi David,
This is really national geographic quality! I have to say, I was a little scared looking at him. For a herbivore, he is quite agressive looking :)
Shaeri

Tobias__Ortmann (2591) 2008-05-25 13:02

This is a great shot of the zanzibar monkey great moment very good sharpness a great capture
Unfortunatly we didn´t see one at zanzibar
but....
great picture
well done
Toba

MarcT (21105) 2008-05-30 5:34

Hi David,
That's a superb portrait. I love his attitude and these beautiful hands. Most of all, his eyes, are the real "eye catcher" of this picture.
Cheers
Marc

siolaw (25882) 2008-05-31 22:49

Hi Dave,
The monkey's quite aggressive expression is well captured here, with excellent light and colors and reasonable sharpness. Good framing
A well timed catch
Best regards
Laurent

testmaniac (12340) 2008-06-01 7:24

Hey David, great shot of this funny monkey. I like action and colors in this photo.

TFS

Phil

sagar (2307) 2008-06-09 9:15

Hi David,
Attach this along with your CV and send it to National Geographic...I'm sure they will be proud to have you with them.
One of the best wildlife shots I have seen.
INCREDIBLE!!!
Regards,
Sagarneel.

jmdias (20165) 2008-06-11 17:25

david

yes, you were lucky whehn you took this shot. Very nice sharpness, pov, colors and light. The animal is in a fabulous position, fantastic view from nature

hugs

jorge

samrat_roy1 (683) 2008-06-18 0:01

hi david
the details are perfect. i love the color combination. you took the shot at a great timing. certainly our planet is full of wonderful animals.....
cheers