Hippo Sunrise

[Morkel Erasmus]

I am back from a relaxing family holiday in the mountains.

Here's something from my recent Chobe trip. Since the hippo was running I could only manage one exposure (as opposed to bracketing). I wish there was more detail on the hippo, but I still feel it works? What do you think? Looking for some of your thoughts on this...:Whoa!:

Techs:
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 @ 70mm
f5.6 @ 1/80 SS @ ISO-3200

Shot from a specialised photographic boat on the river with swivel seats and built-in Wimberly-type heads for mounting cameras.

[Shreyas Mantri]

Hi Morkel,
Two things I love about this - the setting/scenery, and the color in the sky. Maybe you could use some NR on the dark areas of the sky, but results are still impressive @ ISO 3200!
Besides that, I don't know if this was at all possible in the field from where you were shooting, but would've loved to see a lower angle on the hippo such that its structure and the flying water would shadow on the canvas of the sky.
TFS

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Morkel - I really like the sky and the colors reflecting in the river but the hippo just isn't working for me. It's too dark and lost in the distant trees and dark grass. Also it seems like it is angled slightly away from you. Sorry, just one person's opinion but we've come to expect so much from your wildscapes. Glad you got to relax a bit with the family. Looking forward to seeing more from your trip.

TFS,
Rachel

[Brendon Cremer]

I like Morkel, the colours in the sky and the reflection in the water are really great, i dont mind the hippo, i kind of like it, he is not very prominent in the frame and doesnt stand out much, but i do like him there and the splash just adds that little bit extra.

[Stan Cunningham]

Love the scene Morkel but have to agree with the above on the hippo being too dark. Played with it a bit a couple ways to liked the post slightly better using Viveza and a couple control points increasing brightness and shadow adjustments. Probably would need to run some NR on the lightened area but I've got to get to work. Let me know what you think but the color in the sky and the water is just super and hope you can find a way to bring out the hippo a bit. You are much better at processing than I so I encourage you to spend the time with it if possible. Image is one of those you can "feel" so I wish you the best.125781