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The Summit
The Summit
HarveyG


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Best of 2011 (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: Sigma 100-300mm f/4.0 EX IF HSM for Nikon
Location: Hoedspruit, Limpopo Province, RSA
Date: Dec 31, 2011
Aperture: 8.0
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/640
Galleries: Nature, Insects, etc
Date Uploaded: Jan 28, 2012

 It's not DPC candy, despite this challenge being effectively a Free Study...This is MY best shot. One I've been trying to capture of this iconic African image for years, with the little Dung Beetle (Scarabaeus viettei) sitting atop his prize looking at the camera.

They are the funniest to watch as they roll the ball backwards hundreds of feet to a carefully selected soft soil spot where they can safely bury it. Burial of animal faeces also reduces and controls the fly population. This trait is why Africa has less flies than an Australian B-B-Q.
Every few seconds they clamber on top and do a 360 to get their bearings. Inside they lay their larva, which hatch later when temperature and moisture activate any trapped seeds, aiding in the propagation of plants. Isn't nature amazing? They feed partly or exclusively on feces, gross right? All of these species belong to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea.

Thank you to Oliver h2 for the fitting title. All I could come up with was "King of the Mountain". Score? 6.2 would be nice but unlikely.

In RAW increased shadow detail, converted to 8 bit Tiff
Masked beetle and dung ball, sharpened, increased sat +40, increased tonal range and detail, noise reduction on BG, increased BG sat +20, satin layer BG, Warm Filter 85 layer, cropped, sharpened.

At one point Avg Vote: 5.9877. Crawled there from a 5.1 start then proceeded to plummet in the last 48 hours thanks to a run of below average (5.5) 5's :(

Thank you for the wonderful comments especially the CNovack Gem.

Outtake:

Statistics
Place: 185 out of 410
Avg (all users): 5.9060
Avg (commenters): 7.0000
Avg (participants): 5.8691
Avg (non-participants): 6.0698
Views since voting: 1353
Views during voting: 446
Votes: 234
Comments: 17
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 03/17/2012 01:58:51 AM
What a delightful story to go with your King of the Mountain. Thanks so much for sharing both!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
 02/24/2012 06:11:59 PM
very cool bug, I think I like the outtake even more
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 02/23/2012 11:07:11 PM
LOL....his face looks proud. Almost like he is saying "Yeah, I did it!!"
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM II
02/21/2012 02:30:20 AM
Now that I know which one is yours Harvey... (not voting)
Nice comp and clarity with good DOF control. DOF helps to isolate the subject nicely but it looks like there might be a bit of noise creeping in?
Would love to have seen some more detail in the dark underside but being in shadow and knowing the light from above makes it almost impossible I think you did ok.
Here's looking at you Kid!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS R5
Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS
 02/19/2012 03:16:19 PM
Well now that, well that's just a big ball of shit... but the image is exceptional!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7000
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 02/19/2012 01:55:52 PM
This photo really 'bugs' me. Sorry, that's my poor attempt at humor. Fantastic shot and love the title too. Can't be anything but a 10 this - good luck!! :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D750
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 ED-IF
 02/19/2012 04:20:01 AM
fantastic subject and viewing angle
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS R6
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM
 02/18/2012 10:11:05 PM
Ha, what a great capture of one of the ugliest bugs you can find :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon Z8
Nikon NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8
 02/18/2012 09:49:03 PM
Um, is that a dung beetle? On ... dung? Pretty amusing.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/17/2012 06:08:40 PM
What a cool macro!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-600D/T3i Rebel
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
 02/17/2012 10:22:27 AM
Carrol picked up her coffee cup to take a sip. She quickly discovered that it had left a ring stain on her report that she had finished working on the night before. "Damn," she thought, "I'll have to print it again." A quick glance out the window made her stop. She spied a beetle rolling along. "Huh, look at the little circus performer on his ball," she watched for a few moments," Well, at least he's on top of his world. Wish I was." Carrol looked at her watch then rushed to get a fresh report printed before she ran out of the house to join the morning rush hour circus.

The sheen on the beetle's back and the details are fabulous! The spikes on the legs look intimidating. As he is rolling along he, he looks like he in on top of the world...and indeed he is:-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Google Pixel 2
 02/16/2012 07:20:02 PM
I can't deny how happy I am that these bastards aren't life sized! 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/16/2012 09:37:31 AM
I have seeing the great stories of this Beetle from Nat-Geo. Now I have the oppoturnity to view it in image. Great shot and well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Canon Mount
02/15/2012 06:06:35 AM
really sharp, nice macro
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony Alpha a7R III
Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS
 02/13/2012 05:34:16 PM
Oh.....to be a dung beetle.
Great shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-1100D
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II
 02/11/2012 10:14:16 PM
King of the (very smelly) castle! Great focus and clarity here, an unusual subject and good DOF. Cool shot, good luck!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 02/10/2012 01:56:34 AM
Been there, dung that. (sorry)
Nicely captured.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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