Pensive Vervet Kruger National Park.
South African zebra Poses for her portrait.
Happy ostrich is ready for a close up,
while artfully made up Ms. Giraffe puts on the glam.
Barbary Ape in Gibraltar looks ready for a serious conversation.
Magellanic penguin stares me down in Ushuaia, Argentina.
California Channel Island Fox poses quite smartly,
while a elephant seal pup in California spins happily in the sea.
Bald Eagle in British Columbia Canada looks at me judgmentally.
Cheers to you from your portrait perfect friends ~
🌷🙋♂️☃️🎄
The closeups of their faces really add another element to the post. It’s not just photos of animals anymore; it’s personalities and whatever else we can read into facial expressions. Very good. I like the ostrich closeup especially.
Yes, they have definite personalities. I am happy you can see this and thank you დ
Beautiful images. Thanks for sharing.
Merci beaucoup mon ami დ
As for the bald eagle, it looked judgementally and uttered, “I’m not bald!”
LOL! Yes, I’m sure it had hurt feelings.
He does have a fine head of feathers, so I can understand him feeling miffed… 😉
The bald eagle objected once more, “I’m not bald and I have regal, dignified eating manner! You have either too poor an eyesight or confused me with the vulture!”
SoundEagle proceeded to smooth the bald eagle’s ruffled feather and reassured it with the following wise words:
I love it all!! We humans have a lot to learn and no time left to not do so! დ
Thank you, Cindy. You are very welcome to submit a comment to the aforementioned post entitled “🦅 SoundEagle in Debating Animal Artistry and Musicality 🎵🐕🎶🐒🎹🐘🖼🐬🎨”, as I am keen and curious to learn about your feedback and suggestions.
Went there. Did that. I agree with with everything. Thank you.
“I have a fine head of feathers unlike you featherless, flightless humans!”
Well said!
https://soundeagle.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/soundeagle-in-use-with-caution-or-not-at-all.jpg
The ostrich is my favorite, too! 🙂
Smiling…. He makes me smile too. დ
😁😁😁
Truly wonderful. As my husband just said, National Geographic quality!
I am honored. Thank you both & cheers დ
Coming from my earnest guy it’s a sincere compliment. We watch a Lot of wildlife shows; Nature on Public TV. Thanks for sharing your wonderful eye and camera mastery.
I am a big Nature fan and I very much appreciate your thoughtfulness.
These are gorgeous photos Cindy! I especially love that first little monkey and the fox.🥰
Thank you Kim. I am happy you love them. They were friendly and curious for wild critters დ
What a fine collection of animal portraits, Cindy. I love them all.
Awww, thank you Peter. I <3 people who <3 animals! დ
How wonderful they are
It’s lovely to get a sense of the personalities behind these shots. I’m particularly taken by the ostrich and the elephant seal pup. Fantastic photos!
Yes it is…amazing👌🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
If you get some time, please visit my blog..
დ დ
🙂🙏🏻
So pleased you enjoyed them Margaret. I have the seal pup framed in my office and the ostrich in my dining room. They are very nice to live with! დ
Careful that the ostrich doesn’t peer out and steal your meal!
I think he would, and trust me, I would let him! He is one big birdie 😉
Thanks for capturing their essence
Thank you more for appreciating their essence დ
I love these! They’re so expressive.
Very pleased you see their expressiveness Audrey & thank you დ
Awesome! Awesome! :):)
Smiling… Thank you x 2 Amit & be well my friend დ
Love your witty captions!
Thanks so much & cheers to you დ
Dear Cindy it is amazing, creative, crazy, and cool.
Interesting like personalities test.
Thank you for share your great work.
Take care
Elvira
I am so happy you see their personalities Elvira. Thank you and take good care my friend დ
Thank you Cindy for share your wonderful photos.
Take good care too my friend.
Elvira
დ დ
A hug
Back 2Ux2 დ
Have a nice day
დ დ
Beautiful animals. Thank you for sharing:)
Thank you more for appreciating them დ
You made me feel right at home, starting with animals that are dear and familiar to me! All of these close-ups are delightful.
So lucky you! My favorite places on this planet are three continents that start with the letter a, Antarctica, Africa and Australia. After our second trip to Africa, we started talking about moving to this charming community near the crocodile bridge gate into Kruger. I could drive into the park several times a week. It would be heaven for me, as I know it is for you დ დ
Oh YES it would be! One of my brothers lives near enough to visit Kruger at least twice a month – and he is never disappointed by what he sees!
I would really love living there.
Loved the pictures!
Happy you did & thank you Margaret დ
What wonderful close-ups! The animal’s personality just shines in each photo.
Thank you Sheree. We can see their intelligence and their feelings დ
These are such gorgeous photos, Cindy. Wonderful.
Very happy you enjoyed them and thank you Lynette დ
More than excellent.
Awww…I am honored. Thank you Ronnie დ
Fabulous Cindy.. a wonderful start to my day… ♥♥
So glad and thank you for letting me know Sally. Stay safe my friend დ
You too Cindy..hugsx♥
დ დ
WOW! What a spectacular array of animals, wonderful pictures!! Thanks very much, Cindy.
Thank you very much for appreciating our animal cousins Isabel დ
Some real beauties (figuratively speaking) here 🙂
Smiling… Thanks much Derrick and cheers my friend დ
🙂
awwww <3
They are very nice friends დ
Super pictures from such beautiful animals. Thank you and happy weekend!
Thanks much my friend and Happy Weekend to you! დ
wieder so schöne Bilder, liebe Cindy, danke dafür, ich wünsche einen besinnlichen 2. Advent, herzliche Grüße aus dem recht kalten Norden, Klaus
Vielen Dank mein sehr freundlicher Freund. Happy Advent & bleib sicher und warm. დ
Lovely shots, Cindy. 🙂
Thank you Ranu & cheers my friend დ
Reblogged this on Musings on Life & Experience and commented:
Closeups of some critters by Cindy Knoke.
The critters and I are so grateful for your friendship Patricia. Thank you my friend and stay safe დ
Wow!!!
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“I’m lookin’ at you, kid.” 😉 – The ostrich and the giraffe have so wonderful lashes, I confess I envy them a little bit. 😉
Stay safe, dear Cindy!
Yes. I am jealous of Mrs. Giraffe. Her eyes and lashes, and her jungle print outfit, are just so perfectly lovely!! 😉
Simply marvelous! I absolutely love these!
That is because you <3 animals my friend and I <3 you for it! Stay safe and well Linda დ
Wow! These close-ups are very impressive, startling in their clarity. I have to say, I think Ms. Fox is up to something.
Foxes are always up to something. We never figure out what, until it is done, and they are gone! 😉
I was trying to remember the name of the fox who is literary character. I just remembered it: Renard.
Wow! I had to google it. He was old! A medieval fox.
Who knows how these obscure bits of information get lodged in my brain!
I know. You have a smart brain დ
🙂
Lovely post… 👌👌👌
Thank you! დ
Makeup applied correctly. Fresh from the beauty salon. Some a bit sophisticated. Others with a playful grin.
So different from the grimaces and furrowed brows we see on humans today. I miss the smiles and laughter. Hoping for better days to come.
But your blog has always brought us pleasure.
I am super impressed with the zebra and giraffe make up artists, full of joy, creativity and beauty, and totally missing any frown lines!! I share your hope for better, kinder, days 😉
We need hope as HOPE to the 10th power or something! 😉
We do and I hope we get HOPE soon! დდ
Wow, awesome portraits, Cindy. Quite expressive!
Thank you Eliza & stay safe my friend დ
Impressive pictures. I do believe the ostrich looks a bit stoned, don’t you think? 🙂
Laughing…..They do have those hallucinogenic berries in Africa…. დ
Your memories of your various trips are really bellissimi, dear Cindy, and I absolutely love your
California Channel Island Fox! Many thanks and all the best Martina
Thank you Martina. Those foxes are absolutely wonderful. They only live on The Channel Islands and if you are very patient, they will approach you for a closer look. Priceless დ
🌺
Fabulous photos, as always. I saw a bald eagle being chased by a hawk the other day flying over the highway. I nearly hit the car in front of me I was so inthralled by the show they were putting on. The bald eagle could care less about the hawk and clearly seemed to be putting on a show for the drivers. So gorgeous and majestic.
Wow! I would love to see that and so relate to taking my eyes off the road to watch birds. I can imagine my defense after the rear-ending, “Did you take your eyes off the road Ma’am?”
“Well of course I did. There was a peregrine falcon in the air.”
I’d love to know the thoughts behind some of those faces!
They definitely are open to interpretation. The eagle seemed pretty unimpressed though, like he was about to sentence me to 2 weeks of community service….
There is that appearance of being judgmental!
I have two judges in my family, so I am familiar with the look 😉
😂
Fantastic shots!
Merci beaucoup mon ami დ
<3
These are very cool pictures. They make me wonder what they were thinking about.
They clearly are thinking and feeling aren’t they! დ
These are great, Cindy! You really capture the ‘personality’ of the animals. I immediately carried my laptop over to Peggy so she could check out your post. You should have heard the laughter. 🙂 –Curt
Awww, love and thanks to both of you დ დ
Thank you very much, Cindy! That seal pup is very cute ❤️ All of them are. But those huge eyes of a seal 👀 😊
That seal pup was adorable. He spun around and around in the water for my camera. დ
Oh, 😂 all animals are so cute ❤️
I <3 my friends who <3 animals დ
I think I also befriend more people, who loves animals ❤️ 🐱 🐶
Kindness counts დდ
Yes, it does! Indeed !!
დდ
❤️
Those are the most beautiful animal photographs I’ve ever seen. Amazing and so full of love. <3
Awww, like your beautiful chicklets, drawn with love and care. Sending love back to you my friend დ
Pingback: Critter Close Ups~ —(Do not miss any of these amazing photographs from Cindy…they are wonderful) | Rethinking Life
Love to you Gigi დ დ
Excellent portraits.
Grazie mille Pit დ
Fabulous portraits, Cindy!
Much appreciated Susan & cheers to you დ
Wow, great material, great subjects. Flowers, animals, and bugs? Where are the bugs?
I do have bug photos. I just took some of a preying mantis staring intently at me thinking, “If she were smaller, I would eat her.”
It probably would. All the best sci-fi stories of alien bugs have a praying mantis as the evil queen. “Human flesh, too salty for my taste. I do like them when they’re young, though.”
Laughing….. Too watery….. “Ugly bags of mostly water.” 😉
Wonderful as ever!
Grazie mille Bruce დ
Beautifully captured!
Much appreciated Thank you დ
Cindy, thank you so much! These photographs are beautiful and stunning!
You are the most thoughtful friend Charles. The critters and I are grateful for you დ
Reblogged this on charles french words reading and writing and commented:
Here are some stunning and beautiful photographs from Cindy Knoke!
Clever captioning and delightful images Cindy. They really do seem to portray emotions. The ostrich and seal pup are adorable and the eagle very intense! Thanks for the smiles! 😊 🦄
You deserve smiles Brad and I am happy you had some დ
Thanks!
You have got to love the ostrich!
🙂
I feel just like this, lots lately….. 😉
Don’t we all! 🙂
Perfect poses from all of them Cindy. They need an album.
Leslie xoxo
I think you should compose it!! დ
Beautiful, Cindy! All magazine cover shots!
The critters, and I love you Resa დ დ
დ დ დ დ Love you, too, Cindy!
Love those faces, Cindy.
I know you do Rebecca, which is one of many reasons I love you! დ
Sending hugs and love back your way….
დ დ
Nice portraits. The Ostrich is the best.
He does exude a bunch of joy de vivre…. 😉
Ha! Absolutely anthropomorphic! 😱😂
Definitely, from one pet lover to another! 😉
Wonderful portraits Cindy. 🙂
Much appreciated Marie. Thank you დ
You’re welcome Cindy. Marje 🙂
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The fox the fox, I love the fox… great pictures, all of them, but it was the fox who won my heart =^_^=
And if you met him and his friends, you would love them even more. If you sit quietly and are patient, these little foxes become curious about you, and approach more closely to check you out. So delightful დ
Beautiful, Cindy! The photos are so detailed I feel as I f I could reach out and touch these animals!
Thank you Lavinia. So appreciated. They are precious creatures დ
Wonderful variety of faces! I laughed out loud at the Ostich’s expression.
He’s framed in my dining room. People always remark, “Wow, looks like he loves the food!!” 😉
Joyful Cindy so fun to see! All their spirits such a gift ~ smiles hedy ☺️👌💫
I love that you see their spirits Hedy & thank you my friend დ
The critter closeups is so awesome! The fox looks like he is smirking! I love the seal pup! Hugz Lisa
Animals often seem at least two steps ahead of me in so many different ways! დ
You get such amazing detail in your photos. I’m so envious!
Awwww….So kind & so appreciated! I wish I could photograph your kitties დ
I wish you could too! I have one right now that won’t get off my lap long enough for a photo, and when he is off my lap isn’t still enough!!
He would be perfect to photo photograph, and he doesn’t fly დ
Oh my goodness, these are such great portraits, Cindy! I’ve always wanted to be a portrait artist (of humans) and these reminds me of the painted portraits of some of my favorite artists. 😍
What a thoughtful and kind observation Teresa. Thank you Teresa. You touched my <3
Ooooh…I think the Barbary Ape knows something I need to know!
Fabulous portraits! You’re the best, Cindy!
Yes. I always feel a bit dense in the company of monkeys. They seem so wise დ
The one that made me smile the most was the up-side-down elephant seal pup! So cute.
He just spun around joyfully in the water for me while I smiled and too his photo. Total charmer დ
These photos are incredible. Animals never fail to fascinate me.
They are fascinating and so much more complicated that we often wish to acknowledge დ
#3 and #4 look a lot of fun to have around at Christmas. We’d need to heighten the ceiling, so sadly it won’t work out. All lovely photos. RH
Laughing….Thank you my friend I just settle for framing the photos. My two year old twin grandsons love all the animals! დ
Entzückende und faszinierende Fotos. Danke fürs zeigen liebe Bilder liebe Cindy.
Vielen dank mein lieber Freund Ernst. Bleib sicher, gesund und warm დ
Wow! Amazing photos . They are very photogenic.
Thank you and they definitely are gorgeous creatures, one and all დ
The stripes on the Zebra looks amazing !
Aren’t they stunning creatures! Some seem white and black and others visa versa. There is a lot of variety დ
Just wow! Your photos are so good, they give each animal a personality.
Thank you Jennie. Your thoughtfulness is much appreciated დ
You are welcome, Cindy. 🙂
დ
Fantastic portraits! My favourite is the Bald Eagle.
Everytime I see a bald eagle I am thrilled to the core. They are such dignified creatures დ
These pics are way too cute. Love then
So happy you do & thank you Gary დ
I love seeing these closeups, Cindy, though I can do without the monkeys and apes, ha! Just not my favorites, but that giraffe, fox, eagle, and ostrich are stunning — and look very happy that someone wanted their portraits!
Yes, they did seem to like their close ups! 😉
Outstanding shot, Cindy!
Honored, thank you Khaya დ
You are so talented! Love them all but i think that fox is currently my spirit animal!
Thank you very much Melanie. Those little foxes are total sweeties დ
Bald eagles always seem to look cranky 🙂
Yes. They look very unimpressed with us humans! 😉
Great collection Cindy.
Alison
Thank you Alison დ
Thank you for taking me to Zoo. It’s relaxing to watch these creatures lovely portraits.
I am so glad you came with me Alexander. Stay safe my friend დ
Grand close up images. And…thanks for your like.12.07. I hope you enjoy the Chomsky show on the air now!
I actually took a class from him. Brilliant, but a bit wordy 😉
You’re an amazing photographer.
So kind of you & most appreciated to. Thank you დ
Beautiful portraits…almost like they sat for you in a studio and smiled.
Thanks much. Maybe in their own ways, they did just that!! 😉
Beautiful photos, just as usual Cindy 😀
The eagle had something to tell you, I feel very sure.
I think he does have something to tell me. The question is, am I prepared to hear it!! 😉 Thank you for your kind comments Irene დ
You are right and you are the only one to answer that question, Cindy 😀
I’m definitely ready for a long list of grievances from any wild critter. I know they have good reason! დ დ
We can help them to heal too.
დ დ
How wonderful that you have been to the Kruger National Park, Cindy. I love your photography!
Thanks so much Ally, very much appreciated. We’ve been to Kruger twice and self drove each time. I would love to go back again. Cheers to you and stay safe დ
Yes, it’s an amazing place. Keep well and stay safe too. xxx
დ დ
These are so amazing, Cindy! I kept scrolling through to decide which one I liked the best, but I like them all too much to play favorites! Love your comments, too!
Thank you so much Kathy and I <3 that you liked them all!
Beautiful.
Grazie mille დ
You know its funny enough that as a south African citizen- I have never seen these animals…
I am truly sorry you haven’t seen these spectacular creatures. Inequality that prevents you from doing this needs to be corrected დ
But again, we should look into certain factors why that happens. South Africa is a country that has inequality in almost everything, the less priviledge cannot afford such a luxury- going to Kruger National park is close to impossible.
Yes. I should have thought of this. I am truly sorry that I didn’t. It is unacceptable and needs to be changed. დ
It’s nothing parsonal u don’t have to apologize, Cindy. But Kruger National Park is super beautiful. My dream destination n the Disneyland
დ დ
Fabulous 🥰
Grazie mille Donna დ
Hi Cindy,
nice to meet you here om your beautiful blog. Someone just shared your work and Gottfried mentioned you as well. These are spectacular. Visit sometime.
🙏 Cindy
I will visit Cindy and thank you. Gottfried is a brilliant person. I am honored he mentioned me დ
You are most welcome and thank you Cindy! He sure is entertaining and entertaining, that’s for sure! He spoke highly of you and I see why by your beautiful photography!
Sincere thank yous to both of you დ
Absolutely! ❤️
And thanks for the follow back Cindy!!!
დ
Hi Cindy,
I find it impossible not to wonder what animals are thinking when I see portraits like these. And the critters in your pics do seem to be thinking, especially the vervet monkey at the top.
Animals are always thinking and feeling, just like us animals!! 😉 Take good care Josh დ
Pingback: Critter Close Ups~ — (Reblog) – The Elloe Recorder
Grazie mille დ
The portraits are superb, Cindy. Love the Bald Eagle!
Thank you very much my friend & cheers დ
Wonderful!!
Thanks much my friend & cheers to you დ
personally I love Baldies!
I second you on that. Happy Holidays my friend დ
Such a range of emotions in those shots! Who says animals don’t think is just blind. And oh, the red eyes of that Magellanic penguin.
Exactly. These are all thinking, feeling animals, similar to us! Happy Holidays Brenda 🎅 ❄️ 🎁 🦌 ⛄ 👪 🎄
I’ve never actually looked closely at animal faces like this and the shape of eyes and whether they are close together or far apart at either side of the head, Or the colours, the ape’s eyes are blue and I like the yellow surrounds of the eagles eye. Fascinating. Magnificent photos as always Cindy, Happy New Year to you for 2021.
You are observant Charlotte. I am happy you enjoyed these creatures and their mesmerizing eyes, Happy & Healthy New Year my friend დდ
Such expressive faces! Humans can do no better!
So happy you enjoyed and thank you Cynthia. Happy & Healthy New Year 2021! 👪🌃🥂🎇