HOW ABOUT GIRAFFES?

Giraffes are amazing creatures and I love to photograph them. When I take an image into Photoshop, which I call my my digital darkroom, you never know what may emerge. I call this one "COSMIC GIRAFFES."

In this article I will focus on giraffes with information, images and products. I hope you enjoy your tour.

All images in this article are my own unless otherwise stated.

I first "developed" my interest in giraffes as a photographer. (A small pun there.) While photographing these amazing creatures and working with their images, I sensed that somehow they seem to represent an awkward elegance. At first glance, with their long legs and long necks they appear rather ungainly and awkward. Several giraffes standing together are a confusing tangle of legs and necks. However, as they move about one quickly detects a certain elegance in their movement. For me, giraffes combine the improbable attributes of awkwardness and elegance and, in the end; I see elegance as the defining attribute of the giraffe. They are a work of art.

As I learned more about giraffes, I began to appreciate them, as the product of some amazing engineering. The eloquent giraffe we know and love could not possibly survive without certain remarkable biological accomodations, systems and components that were provided by the Creator. A friend of mine who happens to be a rocket scientist (test engineer at NASA Ames) studied the giraffe as an engineer and wrote an article describing some of the amazing biological features built into the giraffe. His conclusion, like mine, is that the giraffe is the product of an amazing Creator. You might enjoy his article, I'll provide a link below.

I have discovered that many people, of all ages, are interested in and intrigued by giraffes. I have "worked out" my interest in giraffes by dedicating a gallery on my fine art website to giraffes. When you click on an image to get a larger view, be sure to read the description below as I often provide interesting facts about giraffes or the image. I have also used my photography and graphic techniques to create a wide variety of popular giraffe related products. You can search my Zazzle website using the keyword "giraffe" to find a wide variety of my giraffe related products. I will provide links below to some of my favorite giraffe images and products created by myself and others.

I mentioned above that a "rocket scientist" friend studied the giraffe as an engineer and wrote an interesting article about some of the amazing biological features that allow such a unique animal to survive and thrive. I think you will enjoy that article so here's a link to it. The Giraffe

This has been a popular giraffe image on my website. I photographed a drinking giraffe and then photographed a full moon and stretched it into an ellipse and tinted it blue. I then placed the moon beneath the giraffe so it could refresh itself. Be sure to read the article above so you can see how the giraffe is able to lower its head to drink without all the blood in its long neck overloading the brain. I have used this same image to create a number of products on my Zazzle website.

I can assure you that no giraffes were harmed in the making of this image. This is fun and popular image and I get a lot of mileage out of it on Zazzle and wherever it's displayed. It makes one stop for a second look.

Hopefully this Hub will encourage you to take another look at giraffes and to take your camera with you the next time you visit a zoo.

I have a fine art photography website where you can view my diverse photographic interests. I have a gallery dedicated to giraffes, vintage vehicles and buildings, galleries for landscapes, waterfalls, birds, wildlife, painterly photography and a variety of other specialized subjects. Mount Shasta and various northern California scenes are prominent in many of my galleries. Most of the galleries have background music if you play them as a slideshow. This allows you to kick back and listen to the music as the images flow by. If you love giraffes as I do be sure to visit my giraffe gallery in Chuck Nelson Photography.

Are you a fellow giraffe enthusiast? Do you like this lens? Do you have a suggestion for improvements? I'd like to hear from you.