Hippos

Gallery: WildlifePosted April 13, 2013266 views9 comments

Taken at the St. Louis zoo. I wish the hippo on the left was sharper and one could see the white of the eye. Looking at the shutter speed, I probably could have used a smaller aperture, although with the turbidity of the water I don't know how much it would have helped. I wasn't that enamored with the color image, but I much prefer the B&W. C&C always appreciated.

D700, 80-200 @ f/4, 1/640 sec, ISO 1250

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on April 14, 2013 at 1:29 AM

Matthew, I agree a little more dof would have been a good idea yet this worked out more than fine as is. I love the action and the composition too. They are amazing creatures and to have both engaged underwater like this is impressive. Unlikely one would be able to capture such an image in the wild. I'm curious how the color version looked, can't imagine it could be too bad?!?

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Williams on April 14, 2013 at 12:32 PM

This is a great shot Matthew. It has a nightmarish feel to it, clash of the giants. Great action, a very good detail where it needs to be. I wouldn't change much here at all, and it definitely works in B & W.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on April 14, 2013 at 2:06 PM

Wow, this is pretty awesome Matthew!

Really unique shot; one that is near impossible to achieve in the wild. The B&W conversion sure works. The only. A little bit tight perhaps at the bottom, but that is just a very minor nit.

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on April 14, 2013 at 6:37 PM

I think this is fully successful! The fishes add depth and interest, your composition works very well and the whitish tone of the inner mouth really pull the eye to the center of the frame. I agree a bit of eye would have been cool...but this is cool as posted.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on April 14, 2013 at 7:27 PM

Great action shot. I think the composition si very good and you caught the action ar just the right moment.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Matthew Goldsmith on April 14, 2013 at 8:23 PM

Thank you all for your comments.

Gary - color version for me really loses a lot of the drama, although I admit being biased towards processing in B&W as soon as the seen started to unfold.
Vincent - agreed. I wished for a bit more room on the bottom as soon as I saw the image. In fact, I avoided adding a stroke border because even losing 1px was noticeable. Many of my frames had more room on the bottom...and fish swimming right in front of the eyes of the hippos.

Registered on June 29, 2010, 37 Posts, 286 Comments

Comment posted by Jorne de Bruin on April 15, 2013 at 9:22 AM

Very cool capture, and work in every way. Good stuff!

Registered on June 26, 2008, 178 Posts, 2136 Comments

Comment posted by Jorne de Bruin on April 15, 2013 at 9:25 AM

Very cool capture, and work in every way. Good stuff!

Registered on June 26, 2008, 178 Posts, 2136 Comments

Comment posted by Joel Thomas on April 15, 2013 at 11:59 AM

One of the most striking images I have seen in my short time on this forum. B&W works reall nice for this shot.

Registered on April 2, 2013, 17 Posts, 19 Comments