Back and forth, back and forth. Couldn't decide between three images, so I finally settled on this one. Why? I connected with this one emotionally. Poor guy was sad and tired and just wanted a little comfort from his mother. She wasn't having any of it. Watched them for at least a half hour. Did get a picture of him peeing into his hand. Not sure what that was about. :)
To edit - I edited this so many times as I changed how I wanted it portrayed. In this version, I know I used a little USM on the gorillas, a little guassian blur on the entire , a little dodging on the background, brightened up his eyes (catchlights were there), cropped, resized, saved for web.
Hope you enjoy... :)
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Wow! Thank you for all the comments! A personal best for me. As to the crop a few mentioned, from my 'point of view' the mother might as well have been a stump. She avoided all contact with her baby and, less than 30 seconds after this shot was taken, she pushed him away. Maybe its the baby's age, maybe it was her mood. I will never know...
Thanks again!
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He probably peed in his hand because it was warm ! :) I had a mom like this,I didn't pee in my hand but when she was asleep I would tiptoe into her room and put her hand against my cheek, a little 'affection theft' I guess ya could call it.
Defintely related to this!
Great image!
That's a terrific shot! You really nailed the focus on his eyes, and your storytelling is perfect with the title. Funny - almost exactly the same placement, score, and percentile as mine in Free Study XII. You got more comments, though. :)
Way to go Courtenay!!! WOW this is gorgeous! I had this pegged for a ribbon, but congrats on your new PB and a fantastic finish in a VERY tough challenge. Great job!
Congratulations on your personal best with this great capture. I expected it to at least be in the top 10 if not top 5. Great finish anyway in such a tough challenge.
For me, this is the clear cut winner. Congratulations on capturing a perfect mood and expression. Your editing is flawless and IMO one of the best entries of any challenge. A truly 1 of a kind image... VERY WELL DONE!
Wow... what a deep image. This image makes an impact... those eyes! GREAT capture!!!!! I love the softness of this image as well... was that a filter or post processing, or ????
What makes this shot good is the expression and body posture of this little gorilla. In those beautiful soulful eyes we see a creature in search of comfort - and we make a connection with that need.. He/she leans on the mother figure for comfort and warmth. The only critique I have for this shot is that the emotional & visual impact would be greatly improved if you had included the mother in this shot (specifically if you might have been lucky enough to capture the mother looking down at the child that would give us a sense that she is looking down fondly at her offspring).
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