In general I have always been inspired by Richard Avedon's Dovima With Elephants and wanted to have an experience photographing a model with an elephant though not trying to recreate it too closely. I had planned a trip to Thailand for a few different planned shoots and I wanted to find a way to have this kind of experience. I met model who had once been photographed by an elephant and help me plan a shoot with her and one of her model friends.

This photo is of the fellow model Nang at an Elephant sanctuary north of Bangkok. The particular elephant was accustomed to humans during educational experiences. The reward for the elephant for the photoshoot and her patience was a bushel of turnips. She was massive, intriguing and gentle at the same time.

Technically, I wanted to have a studio-lit feeling to the scene. I carried my Profoto AcuteB pack, head and Plume Wafer 100 soft box into the nature preserve, a proper jungle, where the star of the shoot was comfortable. Working quickly, I set the strobe exposure with flash meter and balance the background with my shutter in the camera. The model Nang was initially hesitant being so close to the element but grew more comfortable.

The results were the highlight of the trip for me. There are many things about the light on both the model and the elephant which were satisfying. While they were intentional and what I had set out to do, it is gratifying to see the efforts deliver the expected results in conditions which could have easily not worked at all.

edit: Despite what one commenter says, this particular elephant was rescued from the logging industry and therefore rescued from abuse. This effort on the part of the sanctuary is a positive influence on the native population of elephants in Thailand. The fee I paid for a model to stand next to this great animal went to help support those efforts.