Great photo Dale!

Thanks for the mini story on it too.

On the photo of the elephant at the top of this thread, a couple of other things that could contribute to the 'weird' image quality are likely condensation on the lenses of the (likely compact) camera, and the breeze.
The grasses are moving in the breeze, the elephant's ear is moving, the tusk is solid and massive, stable and not quivering. Tusk is solid and it's image is crisp, the grass is blurred, and the whole image has a bit of a haze across it.

I've had cameras blush the lens elements in changing humidity and temperature, especially if the little camera's been packing in a pocket.

--Tinker