Golden Jaws

[Morkel Erasmus]

Hey everyone - back from an amazing trip to the Chobe river between Botswana and Namibia.
We had many amazing encounters on the specialised photographic boat we used, and I hope to share some of them here on BPN in the coming weeks.

This was taken late one afternoon as the sun was coming through a gap in the clouds. The boat was still moving into position to photograph the hippo pod, so I snapped this "on the move" as I saw the big guy rising from the water. I would have liked a little more space on LHS, but I cropped a sliver off there to remove a wayward ear from the neighbouring hippo. Cropped for rotation and positioning of the big guy (had some space on the RHS which had to go) - from 36mp to 19mp. Thus a 50% crop which still gives me more resolution than a 7D or D7000. Love my D800 .

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f4.0 | 1/500 SS | ISO-250
Exposure Bias -1.3

[dankearl]

The lighting and the water spray/drops are very nice Morkel.
You have lost some detail it seems to me and a 50% crop with the D800 should be fine in that respect.
I can't imagine you used a lot of NR with iso250, but it has that look.
I don't mind the softness as I think it is attractive.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks Dan. No NR used at all, think it's just how it came out with the underexposure and the overall hazy scene plus shooting "through the bugs".
I am fine with it as presented as it's exactly what I wanted from the shot...

[Ashleigh Scully]

This is beautiful Morkel I love everything about it. What was the hippo doing anyway, calling? If I would wish for anything different it would be that the hippo was alone in the picture. Great shot!

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

Love it, Morkel! I can almpost feel those bugs against my face as I'm trying to immitate your shot! Massive yawn & teeth display, nicely captured!

[Martin Dunn]

Nice one Morkel. Great light and I love the way it highlights all the bugs that are in the air.
If I'm being picky, the exposure and sharpness look much better on the RH side than on the LH side with the area arounf the hippo's back where it meets the water and the baby hippo's had looking a bit light.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Morkel, the overall golden hues/tones work well and the illuminated bugs sets the scene nicely.

Personally I would prefer a bit more space on the LHS, it's a wee bit tight/cramped for me. Based on the overall tone I would add a graduate filter from the base up to the Hippo's back just to knock back the slightly brighter areas, then a basic mid tone to bolster the texture and tone of the calf a hippos back. I might of kept to a minimum of ISO400 just for that little bit of extra SS with no real lose of IQ.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Morkel - the golden light and overall feel here are beautiful. Nice low pov and great pose. I agree with your self-critique about the left being a little too tight but not a deal breaker. Looking forward to seeing more from your trip.

TFS,
Rachel

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Morkel,

I was kind of expecting one of those golden images from you, and I am certainly not disappointed.

This anything-but-lethargic hippo is so alive within her waters and seems to almost "breathe out" a whole bellyful of insects. She is barely lit by the afternoon sun - what a lovely effect you have achieved, Morkel!

In terms of IQ this looks great to me, despite your choice of rather low ISO. I really enjoy your photography, the variety, your processing skills, your thinking, real stunning and very inspiring work, glad to see you back on BPN!

Warmest regards,

[Mike Poole]

Excellent shot - there is surely no better light in the world than golden hour African light. The low POV works very well, with the backlit bugs and water finishing the shot off nicely

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Morkel,
great golden light shot working nicely with this spectacular open jaw of the hippo. Great handling of the back lightning.
Good to see the detail in the subject and not just being choked, nicely processed . The flow of water that runs from the lower jaw adding really nice touch to the frame.

Great job overall .
TFS Andreas

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks folks.

Steve, was on auto ISO and resorted to these aperture and SS settings at the previous sighting, as I said the boat was still coasting in and I snapped 4-5 frames of this behaviour before it was all over and the boat was brought to a halt.

[Marc Mol]

The overall colour, back lighting with just the right amount of detail on the hippo take this up from the usual open mouth hippo images Morkel, nicely seen.

[Steve Canuel]

Very nice Morkel. Great feel to this one.