Canon 1DX Canon 100-400 L IS II ISO 3200 1/640 sec f5.6
I took this at Berg en Dal in Kruger Park, he was just rambling very slowly then suddenly decided to make a run for the water, I would have liked to increase shutter speed but it was a case of grab it while you can. Having said that he was coming more or less in my direction so the speed wasn't too bad. I have several images in the series but I think this was the only one with the mouth open.
Hi Jon - Welcome back. I'm looking forward to seeing your images from RSA. Nice action with the bit of splash. I am guessing that you could not get a lower pov. I do wish for a bit more below to have the full reflection and a little extra room but we've all done similar in the field. If it were mine I would reduce the cyans in the water but you were there. I find them drawing my eye though. Also the hippo itself seems a bit dark, raising the exp. slightly on the hippo brings out a bit more detail.
I see you've been to Kruger Park - has it been a good trip in terms of sightings and did you enjoy your stay?
Cool sighting here with the hippo running towards you, mouth open and all I think it's pretty sharp for 1/640s and I love the "commotion" here and water splash - super timing!
In terms of comp I would crop from the top quite a bit if this were mine. I gather your intention was to give a bit of "background" of the situation, showing where the hippo is coming, or running from. I would try put more emphasis on the subject instead, if you know what I mean.
I personally feel there's a bit too much blue in the water, especially on the RHS of the frame - not a big issue though, let us see what the others say. Hippo is supper cool, nice detail, love to see the teeth, looks like a mean fellow and I wonder what was he up to...
Many thanks for sharing Jon, I cannot wait to see more from your trip. I enjoyed viewing this frame
Rachel, Gabriela I agree entirely with your comments, on reflection I cannot understand why I didn't notice the blue colouration in the water. The position from which I took the image was not negotiable, I was having a beer at the time in the camp (oh yes it was tough!) and the hippo suddenly became active, I was on a path behind a fence in an elevated position, I got as low as I could.
(I forgot to mention in both images I also took some blue out of the hippo).
Mmmm...I take it you had a "tough" time in the Kruger LOL RP much better IMO, water looks more natural. And I personally like the new crop, it somehow changes perspective.
I understand what you mean about POV - had the same issue while there some time ago, great action in places but just could not get any closer to the river. Hope you had a great time nevertheless, and some predators in sight as well as ellies !
Thank you so much for taking the time to revisit and for showing us the RP, hope you have a wonderful week-end Jon!
Nice work Jon. Hope you had a great time in Africa and look forward to seeing more from the trip. The repost of this is a significant improvement in both composition and colour. Looks like you might have added a bit of rotation too. The original did look slightly lopsided to me but I think it was simply because of the moment at which you caught the frame. The SS has worked fine here from what I can see. Personally, I wouldn't want to be any closer or lower given the charge this animal is making but understand the POV comments from others. Keep them coming!
Hi Jon, a nice encounter for you, hope you didn't spill or lose any of that beer in the heat of the moment...
Definitely the RP is an improvement, but again I feel the image was under exposed originally and the WB in the PP way off. Both images look thin and lack the depth/pop, you have it there Jon, you just need to pull it out. Techs, well as it was more of a reaction/grab shot you did well, yes pop the ISO to 6400 (no problem for the 1DX) and yes bit more SS, however here I don't think it was that crucial. Not sure if you have changed anything in your 'sharpening' stage, but the images I have seen look a bit more pushed, perhaps it's down to the original files Jon, please let me know.
Jon, I took the RP and just tweaked it, WB, reducing the Blue and getting some more depth back in, more evident in the water/bow wave, no additional sharpening applied, but you can see how much more detail/clarity there is and gained just from some basic changes.
Hippopotamus
I think it's pretty sharp for 1/640s and I love the "commotion" here and water splash - super timing!
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
