Freedom of the Leash, a photo from California, West

Photographer's Note

North Del Mar Beach is one of the very few beaches where pets are allowed, and in winter months they are allowed without a leash. When these canines rush forward in glee and frolic in the water, who can deny they have a 'soul', if 'soul' exists at all!! That leads me to the following:

The Old Gibbon Pardoned

Once there was a wise old gibbon,
Who never thought of afouling Ibn
By complaining of ahYweh's snore
Or by disputing lAhla's score.

But while swinging over Dinder𠏋 arbor,
She wondered in a monologous whisper,
Whether for a gentlewoman 𩾷is proper
To make a haModeman of cuddly Smokey bear.

"My little Smokey teddi-san,"
Swoons Mograri's baby crocodilian!
"What nonsense," Screams a prowling reptilian,
"An effrontery by an outrageous shenanigan!"

So over the Nubian pans,
Remnants of Albahr's ruminants,
Munch on bone dry papyrus,
While Bana Simba calls for a caucus.

"How shall we decide the punishment
For wise old gibbon's intransigence,
For desecrating our pious name
In dirty thoughts, be it only in vain?"

"Fifteen days in jail,"
Cries the caucus gentlemen,
"Five for the thought,
And ten for being women.
While we don㦙 have the power
Of liquid and gas of our brother,
We must put down womanly rancor
Against any horse-riding savior!"

And so the big wise old gibbon
Sits in a dark hot gaol,
While civet and bana simba growl,
In Dinder𠏋 underbrush prowl,
While baby crocks shed hapless tear
For lonely haModeman teddy bear.

尞et𠏋 have tea!� Suggests the ombudsman,
Under a spacious tent in Omdurman,
㜁ith sugar and milk, dear dear,
Let𠏋 free the gibbon, enough rancor!�

And at last bana simba sighs in satisfaction,
Of high tea and biscuit in adulation,
And nods to the civet in attention
To let gibbon out of incarceration.

Lo and behold folks of gibbonland,
Make no teddy bear a haModeman!
But call any gibbon by that name,
There is no sin in such a flame.

sagar, bombilla, luisafonso, flory, Wanda1 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

sagar (2410) 2007-12-04 8:09

Hi Animeshda,
Wonderful catch!!!! The silhouette of the dog against the sea is a deligtful!!!
Regards,
Sagarneel.

atlantida (2323) 2007-12-04 8:29

Yeah, the dog's silhouette is wonderful, the b&w works very well, I guess the sun was very strong that's why I'm getting a feeling that something is missing, the top part of the photo maybe...Why did u left the dog so centered? I mostly like it, although there is something missing here.

Gordana

sayeed_rahman (6461) 2007-12-04 8:43

Hello Animesh..long time :)

The theme is quite unconventional and an eye-catcher. Love the dog leaping over the waves and the motionless ones in the BG..reminds me of National geographic Shot of arctic wolves jumping over the sheets of ice..

Overall i like the strong shades of black and white..fits the extract in the note !

Cheers
Sayeed

bantonbuju (51815) 2007-12-04 12:13

there's an exceptional mood in this image...vast space of the shore...wilderness of the beach...indeed unlimited freedom...unlimited natural timeless space...
bw, j.

roshnir (52) 2007-12-04 13:19

lovely. captures the essence of beaches in the winter time and the carefree spirit of happy dogs. as for the poem, when bana simba and the crocodilians put a ahFtwa on our heads we'll have you to thank :).

chicken (1557) 2007-12-04 13:25

As always simply wonderful b&w work. Really like your composition here with the running dog and its reflection in the center.

bombilla (3406) 2007-12-04 14:02

Beautiful, Animesh. Freedom runs on molten silver, the world opens up, the other creatures wrestle amorously in the background. The horizon just a notion. Earth and sky are one.

As for the poem, great one, too. We are all shaking our heads at that incredible story. How does a religion -- be it Islam, Christianity, or anything else -- that ostensibly honors tolerance and compassion become so corrupted by some people?

Best, -Hugh

SNOOP_Chan (4377) 2007-12-05 0:40

I choose to give you the points for the photo and not for the note ;) It seems like the dogs really enjoy their temporarly freedom. TFS

luisafonso (862) 2007-12-05 1:19

Poetic vision Animesh... The panorama format suits very well the mood of this photo. It's a wide feeling. I can almost feel the wind freezing my face. It must be that gentle blue cast - at least it looks so in my monitor - that is evoking that gelid feeling. It's incredible how your landscape photos always drawn me into the land captured by you. Amazing...

Merline (0) 2007-12-05 6:40

Animesh, glad to see that you are still here:-)

I enjoy very much the mood, the strong light, the silhouette of the dog, I'm sure he has a soul for my part, would have preferred him a bit on the side, beautiful tonality of the b/w, good note too...
What films do you use ?

TFS
Mich鋩e

keribar (43841) 2007-12-06 21:11

Hello Animesh,

I can tell you by experience that such a picture would certainly go to the first ranks of a photo competition, but some judge would certainly add " But the dog is right in the middle " So I think we are looking at a picture with many assets like the silhouetted dog and the panoramic beach, but it could have been even better.
Friendly yours - Izzet

sayan (2617) 2007-12-07 6:53

This is a classic Animesh da. The panoramic view was lovely. I agree with you on what you have written in reply to Izzet's comment. It surely is an interesting and unusual composition with the dog in the middle. The vastness also is an issue which is well depicted due to the pano as well as due to not cropping from left or right. The shadow of the dog was amazing. Also the low shutter speed might cause the blur due to motion, still its shadow is sharp! That is interesting!

regards

Sayan

kensimage (8563) 2007-12-08 9:11

There are still those scientists who claim that dogs and other animals do not have a consciousness that experiences their thoughts, their brains just receive stimuli and react to them. These scientists obviously do not actually own dogs.

The Holga-like vignetting is really nice here, Animesh, very natural. I think it's almost better in the normal size rather than expanded, because the noise isn't so noticeable. Usually of course you wouldn't want the subject centered, but here it definitely works, setting off the dog against the brightest part of the sea. Regards, Ken.

j4uvikram (57) 2008-01-03 7:32

Hi Animesh Da

Wonderful photo.
The two dogs in the background make the picture more nice.
The waves captured in black and wite with sunlight reflections make this photo great.

Regards
Vikram

sohrab (7439) 2008-01-15 7:24 [Comment]

Show Comment +

flory (4848) 2008-01-15 22:43

hi Animesh,
like this series of your in panorama format,but this one particularly..possible for the feeling of freedom who let me the dogs when meets water;)really like what Socrate told:'how much know the behavior of human being,much better i appreciated the dog'..
take care,
Flori;)

Wanda1 (15142) 2008-06-19 23:31

Hi Animesh,
This shot has some great elements...the strong contrast, the panoramic format, the dog with a slight blur of movement and two feet of the ground at the same time (I like that) and of course the dogs reflection in the wet sand and the other two dogs in the background...all these come together to form one wonderful image.
Regards
Wanda

azizbilgili (2111) 2010-06-04 0:42