Give a giraffe a bone...

“This was a young giraffe cow near Mopani that was actually standing there chewing on a piece of dry bone. That while watching us with her big eyes and long lashes.”

A giraffe is one of the most elegant animals, but also one of the most unique in terms of appearance. And, as you can see in Johan’s photo, it’s also odd.

First of all, you don’t expect a herbivore to chew on a piece of bone. What’s more, the bone is framed beautifully in the middle of the photo and you can’t help but notice the animal’s mouth first. Her lower jaw is lopsided, which gives you the impression that she’s busy chewing. Meanwhile – and as Johan points out – she’s looking right at you, almost as if wondering what you’re looking at. It gives the pic a comical feel.

To animate the pic more, enhance its technical side. It’s slightly underexposed, and due to the cloudy conditions (or the absence of direct sunlight) slightly dull. You can brighten it up and make it ‘warmer’ by increasing the pic’s colour temperature. Simply put, you increase the yellow.

To further emphasise the animal’s oddity, crop the pic around the animal’s face. Here, however, things become more subjective and not everyone will agree with me. For example, you can cut off its horns – it’s fine, because you know you’re looking at a giraffe. If you stand back now, you see the following strange phenomenon: the face is indeed pentagonal!