Monkeys!

DewrGleision

Hey all. Long time no post for me, eh? Not that you missed me.
Anywho, Ive been doing a lot of junk here and there, and Ive decided that it wasnt the art and act of photography itself that I was enamoured with, bu rather the end product. More specifically, the subject matter. It just didnt make sense to me to go all gungho to photograph only that which I truly love (I have many loves in life, but this is still too narrow for me), for whatever reason... I feel that a photographer must have the breadth of skill and training to adapt to any situation at any time; dont ask me why, as I cant really explain myself...

Anywho, speaking of the subject matter, although Ive gotten better at the whole shebang of photography and minor editing, I was, after a long discussion with a professional photographer friend of mine, enlightened to the fact that to create the images I wanted to and saw in my head, I would need a lot more money, and a lot more time... But, as it were, I thought Id share some of those pictures I consider decent, and representative of what I mean by subject matter.

First, a little explanation is probably best... For the last month, Ive been volunteering my time at my friend's animal facility. To make a long story short, he trained baboons and other animals for various movies, shows, and a theme-park where he worked consistently with the whole scheme of primates there, called Marine World Africa. After he left Marine World, he started his own business, and now does birthday parties and other special events. If any of you were watching the SuperBowl of 2003, you may have witnessed a Sierra Mist commercial, in which one of his female Hamadryas baboons did the back-stroke.
These pictures are of his female Spider Monkey Georgia, his female Hamadryas baboons Kamila (appeared in "The Rundown", with The Rock) and Dagny (Sierra Mist commercial), and his male Mandrill baboon Azuma (appeared in "Tears of the Sun").

Im just going to paste these here from my personal webspace, since they get all messed up when I try and shrink the file (PSP be damned...).

So yeah, anywho, thats what Ive been up to...

DewrGleision

A couple of Kamila and Dagny...

This one of Kamila is messed up in my attempts to salvage it from very low light nastyness... Shes kinda looks blue almost...



This last one BEGS for a caption!

wxwax

That second one is really nice. The light's right, and so are the expression and the composition. Nice job.

jwear

have to agree
second one is best, last one i like nice job

DJ-S1

Whoa, cool shots DG! I agree the 2nd is best, but the 1st one is really cool too. Thanks for posting these.

fish

Terrific shots! The blue eyes are mystifying. However, I must add that the harness is somewhat depressing.

DewrGleision

Heh, thanks.

It was really rediculously overcast and gloomy that day... The original, un-edited picture is, therefore, a bit less vibrant, but I didnt exceed what I thought was true to the eye in terms of color enhancement. Youd have to see her in better light to tell.

She likes the leash; its a form of security for her. She carries the leash with her crazy prehansile tail thats like a tentacle with a mind of its own... My friend's only had her for about a month or so now, and she still needs more training before she can be allowed to walk freely; whats more depressing than a cloth lanyard with a spring-clasp on it is an un-trained monkey that gets lost and gets killed, or worse...

Incidentally, heres a nifty shot to illustrate what Im babbling about; I cropped it a little, but not the bottom, which is unfortantely cut off a little from the abent-minded snapping... Also color enhanced and balanced to compensate for the gloom...

Edit: Oh, and youre right; Ive never seen a monkey with BLUE eyes before! Im told its exceedingly rare, which adds to the uniqueness of this monkey herself. Shes such a sweet-heart. She started to climb into my lap and let me groom her very early on, during our walks when we sit down in the parking lot to lounge.

damonff

Those shots are awesome...I need to venture off to the zoo one day...

DewrGleision

Yeah, monkeys rule. I think Im going to major in primatology, minor in cultural anthropology, and do work mostly on the anthro frontiers...

Heres a couple more, one of her playing in the tree, and just a quick, off-the-cuff, panic snap of her walking all goofy (they walk hilariously ).
I dont know if its been well illustrated enough, or if people know or not, but the have NO THUMBS!!! Creepy as hell. They hold stuff with just four fingers... But they have thumbs on their feet. Guess thats what you get for being a true-brachiator...




I had to rotate this one because I was holding the camera all weird... Sorry for the blur... As usual, there was light editing involved here, especially regarding color rendition in the gloom of an overcast day...