Puh-leez! I'm bathing. Photo

Photographer's Note

Since the horse power of engines has vitually replaced the power of horses, the water buffalo is unquestionably the most important draft animal in the world.

Hundreds of millions of farmers depend on their strength for pulling, ploughing and hauling. They are used primarily in rice growing areas and can plough and harrow the flooded fields without problem.

Mechanical ploughs and tillers are used by large scale rice farmers in countries like the US or Spain, but the buffalo rules supreme in Asia for several reasons. The rice fields are often on terrraced slopes, making it difficult to move a tractor from level to level, the fields are too small to make mechanization profitable, and small fields means farmers too poor to afford machinery anyway. They fertilize while they work too!

Water buffalo are ideal farm animals; strong, willing and placid. You can see a four year old child leading one by the rope in the nose, or even riding on one. Can you imagine letting a four year old do that with a bull?!!!

Rinie_Hoff, rabani, RGatward, eelliott305, mitternacht, manny, dinaydase, ChrisJ, touristdidi, Darren, Derrick, Leonie, KevRyan, iGirl marcou esta nota como útil

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rabani (9645) 2004-03-29 4:44

Other than very funny title, your note and composition is descriptive and interesting.It gave me an idea to shoot buffalo doing its work. With the caption "Puh-leez! I'm working here!" Good work Ian.

RGatward (20108) 2004-03-29 4:48

A very interesting note Ian. I'd never have imagined the switch in importance of these animals.

eelliott305 (776) 2004-03-29 4:53

Good shot Ian. The buffalo has quite an amusing expression. I think it was a great idea to get in close for this shot. I have tried before to photograph them by getting the whole animal in the frame, your way is much better.

[2]

Rinie_Hoff (9340) 2004-03-29 5:17

Very nice capture, he looks funny, very well cropped. I like those animals, and I'm always impressed how people treat them. If I could, 5 points for your note, very good! ;-)

manny (22032) 2004-03-29 9:43

This is very good! Original. I like the look of the water buffalo. I like that there aen't much colors. These water buffalo are very useful animal. In the Philippines, we call them carabao. Good work.

dinaydase (651) 2004-03-29 14:30

VEry informative notes and candid picture. The water buffalo in your photo reflects what you have written there with its expression. It is as if saying:" I can handle more.." VEry well captured, Regards, Seda...

clodreno (0) 2004-03-30 7:14

I kind of like this shot Ian.. Those animals have very strange faces..
Your note is also a big plus.

ChrisJ (171146) 2004-03-31 4:33

Ditto to the above. Sharp, & good use of the diagonal.

touristdidi (8583) 2004-03-31 9:27

I love buffalos, but they rarely plough in nepal...I see them with tiny kids all the time, I like their conceited strut, and I loved one in pokara, that was so pampered, such a baby... they provide milk, and for newars and others in Nepal, meat. All animals are placid in Nepal and India compared to USA. They are raised basically with the people, not seperate. Goats and chickens, sleep in houses with the people, often same room. My room on a farm in Nepal's mountains, had a hole that the water buffalo watched me thru, (until I used a flash to try to get a picture of that big beautiful eye peering in my room).

Darren (6823) 2004-03-31 9:38

Great note Ian and a very good shot too. I think the shot is very good, although I would prefer a little looser crop, to show more of the buffalo's surroundings. Colors also seem a little unsaturated to me as well, but they are probably quite accurate. Certainly nice and sharp with terrific details.

Interesting thing about water buffalo here in Asia (at least I think it is interesting). Here the locals just call them buffalo and they refer to Wood Buffalo/Bison as American Buffalo. Of course, in Canada, the Wood Bison/Buffalo gets the generic buffalo monitor and we label the animals in your photo a water buffalo. I wonder if in Africa, Cape Buffalo are simply called buffalo, while the other species are given a more specific name. Just a curious thought. Unfortunately, at least in some parts of SE Asia, they call the meat from a (water) buffalo beef. If you have eaten both, you can tell the difference ;)

[2] +

Derrick (176) 2004-04-03 15:34

Well composed & cropped Ian! I especially like the amount of detail you've managed to bring into focus...

Leonie (8809) 2004-12-14 7:25

I love the expression of the cow...cows are my favourite animals...this one looks cute.

KevRyan (22956) 2005-04-09 7:07

Nice composition - good clear image - nice animal - brilliant titel worth all the smiles in the world!

fiedziu (1764) 2005-08-07 14:30

heh, funny picture
well done
regards

iGirl (1223) 2006-10-07 7:50

Hi Ian, interesting picture, nice note, and I love the caption! I like this diagonal composition.

Thanks for sharing!

Erin

Photo Information

Copyright: Ian McAllister (ianmcall) (1213)
Genre: Lugares
Medium: Cor
Date Taken: 2000-07-00
Categories: Transportes
Camera: Kodak DC260
Versão da Foto: Versão Original
Tema(s): Beautiful cows... [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2004-03-29 4:28
Favoritos: 1 [ver]

Viewed: 3969

Points: 28

Discussions

To RGatward: Not really a "switch" (1)
by ianmcall, last updated 2004-03-29 06:03
To Darren: Buffalo are buffalo (1)
by ianmcall, last updated 2004-03-31 10:07

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::: Puh-leez! I'm bathing. by ianmcall (1213)

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