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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Six: Vantage Point makes the difference > White Rhino, Tala Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, 2002
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06-DEC-2002

White Rhino, Tala Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, 2002

The most common vantage point in photography is a straight on shot from the front. It works best when confrontation is the point of the picture, as in this shot of a rhino giving me the once-over. But I am not the only one caught in its stare. You are, as well.

Canon PowerShot G2
1/640s f/4.0 at 21.0mm hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time06-Dec-2002 12:27:59
MakeCanon
ModelPowerShot G2
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length21 mm
Exposure Time1/640 sec
Aperturef/4
ISO Equivalent
Exposure Bias
White Balance (-1)
Metering Modematrix (5)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Program
Focus Distance2.140 m

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Phil Douglis15-Jun-2007 04:55
Glad this Rhino caught your attention, Sun Han. It sure caught mine.
Guest 12-Jun-2007 14:19
this rhino got a benevolent expression as if he's having a long signing, 'oooah... see u here again' i never look at rhino this angle before, it's excellent, his ears very cute and alive in the shape of some begonia, his lips remind me of sort of rock fish, and the horn, how come the horn is still wet? he's been bathed in mud minutes ago, i guess
Phil Douglis27-Feb-2005 06:07
Good analysis of this confrontational vantage point, Zandra. And that is the key to any frontal vantage point. Confrontation, either benevolent or malevolent, is best served with a straight on vantage point. You put the viewer in the role of being confronted by the subject of the picture. You are right -- if this was a sweet dog, the viewer would want to hug it. As for this rhino, what we have here is the moment of truth. Stay or run? Who will blink first? Those are the questions I ask with this image.
Guest 21-Feb-2005 18:39
Straight on shots liek this is usually something we are tought to avoid, and that goes for potraits of both humans and animals. It does however have one great advantege...it is provocative in a way that a profie shot can never bee. We are confronted and we are requested to give some sort of reaction. The reaction, that depends a lite bit of the subject matter. In this shot, we are being quit provoced by the Rino and we, or atleast i, react as being provoced. Had this Rhino instead been a cute litle dog with big brown eyes, then my reaction woudl have been totally difrent. That might have triggered me to want to cudle and protct the dog...nothign i feel i desire with thsi animal. Thsi is a head on challenge...it is me or him, one of us must move and it wont be me...they say i can be think headed att iems but i wonder if i can really take on a Rhino hehe. But just as with your tiger shot, thsi puts on in a situation where we realaise that we are outside the safe bounderies of our homes...other rules apply...and we better learn the game really quick if we are to survive.
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