ENTRY DESCRIPTION
This image ticks all the boxes: an iconic specimen with the perfect body posture, captured from the best photo angle in a balanced composition, reflecting a conservation success story.
1) Iconic specimen: "This one is a bull among great bulls. One who moves in such majesty that men have named him Plough the Earth...On each side of the spoor a double line scuffed through grass where the tips of the tusks touched" (Wilbur Smith, 1968).
There may be over 30 "hundred pounders" left in Africa, but only three of them sport symmetrical tusks that touch the ground at the same time.
2) Body posture: there are several key elements to an engaging elephant portrait: front view, eyes open pointing to the camera, a sense of movement, ears spread, tusks touching the ground and the lower part of the trunk behind the tusks line, plus a subtle tail flipping.
3) Photo angle: if a Statue, a Monument would have to be raised to a species, what would that look like? 
The wide angle proximity and the perspective offered by low positioning augment his majesty, creating a similar visual effect to that of statues and monuments put on a pedestal.
4) Composition: it is very difficult to get powerful aesthetics in between acacia trees and bushes. The foreground is simple and clear of grass and bushes. Then, the elephant is part of a leading line connecting the foreground to the background, on a diagonal. The background acacias do not distract, but give him context: his natural environment. Finally, a dramatic sky completes the image: a clear sky would have been boring, and the resulting image unbalanced.
5) Conservation success story: this part of Tanzania suffered from poaching and encroachment: serious conservation efforts lead to the recovery of the elephant population.

AUTHOR
George Dian Balan is a multi-award winning fine art wildlife photographer, scientist, author, inspirational speaker and world records discoverer, specialised in world record and world class individuals in iconic megafauna species.
He creates timeless images by using an immersive approach, portraying as never seen before giants that have captured our imagination. He pays much attention not only to the subject selection, perspective and composition, but also to body postures. The question he asked himself when embarking on his artistic journey is if a Statue, a Monument were to be raised to a species, what would that look like? 
Dian is the author of the award-winning book The World As It One Was (2020), which combines arresting visuals with solid science. For this endeavour, he selected pictures by 100 photographers from around the world and consulted 30 world class experts. He supports local conservation projects in Africa with proceedings from his book and from fine art prints, including as a two-time contributor to Prints for Wildlife, the world’s most financially successful fundraising of its kind.
He was a member of the jury of the Golden Turtle Photography Awards (2023) and the Jackson Wild Film Festival (2022) and the curator of the exhibition Europe's Wild Heart (Brussels, 2019). He has several personal exhibitions or participated in collective exhibitions around the world.

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