Wildlife - 1st HM

Gallery: EPA 2014Posted March 17, 2014787 views27 comments

Golden Jaws

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 use, and I hope to share some of them here on NPN 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

Comments

27 comments

Comment posted by Thomas Haney on March 17, 2014 at 5:15 PM

Wow, awesome shot Morkel. I love the light and color, and the line of water running from his mouth. What kind of bugs are filling the air here, are they biters?

Registered on April 7, 2013, 138 Posts, 537 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on March 17, 2014 at 6:35 PM

Beautiful lighting and a classic hippo pose Morkel, one nit - hey this is NOT BPN

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on March 17, 2014 at 6:41 PM

Thomas - yep, mozzies and everything in between!
Nate - whoops

got to admit the image text was a copy-and-paste. Corrected now.

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on March 17, 2014 at 7:26 PM

Beautiful back lighting and great pose. I also like the glow of the "speckles". I'm guessing those are a horde of insects.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on March 17, 2014 at 9:44 PM

Super shot. You've explained everything and it all makes sense. That said, I would opt for the room you took out on the left and a clone to remove said offending ear. I'm not a big fan of cloning on nature images, but there are times it is a viable option. It just feels like his butt is against the side of the frame. Wish I had anything even close to it.

Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on March 17, 2014 at 9:55 PM

Impressive, Morkel. The light and glistening insects put this over the top. Well done.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on March 17, 2014 at 11:13 PM

I liked this just for the pose, but once I opened it up, the texture of the bugs really kicked it up a notch. Nice!

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Martin Dunn on March 18, 2014 at 3:57 AM

Love the light Morkel, especially the way it catches all the bugs

Registered on February 20, 2013, 198 Posts, 1011 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on March 18, 2014 at 7:56 AM

Cracker of a shot !
Is that a calf or another Hippo on LHS?
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on March 18, 2014 at 11:22 AM

Hey Morkel,

Strong subject, sweet light, well-handled - great shot! 'Nuff said!

Glad you had a great trip - really looking forward to seeing more images from it.

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on March 18, 2014 at 1:10 PM

Hello Morkel

SWEET CAPTURE ! I just calibrated my monitor and this Image is a great test to View.

Most have already said but....Well Done & Very Powerful ! :)

Thanks for Sharing

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on March 18, 2014 at 4:00 PM

Thanks for your comments, guys

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on March 18, 2014 at 4:45 PM

Awesome photo Morkel, lovely light, great action and wonderful detail.

A Beauty

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on March 19, 2014 at 12:10 PM

Terrific as posted. My only thought for experimenting would be that I am not sure you need all of the sloping backline all the way to the water and the baby is not really a key feature. Maybe it would be strongest cropped on the left to eliminate the small one, and add enough on the right for format. That would make the hippo feel like it is bursting from the left edge with the open mouth so perfectly lighted against the graduated tones of the background. Wonderful shot, Morkel!

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

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on March 19, 2014 at 1:08 PM

Great shot of this hippo. A great pose with very sweet backlight. Really looks good large. Despite all of that there is just something about this photo that bugs me!!!

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on March 20, 2014 at 9:23 PM

Very cool image Morkel, the lighting is outstanding, and isn't that the most important part of a "photograph".

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

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on March 22, 2014 at 6:11 PM

Thanks a lot, folks

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Balakumar Kaushik on March 23, 2014 at 1:57 PM

Great warm light and a nice pose. The back-lit bugs add a lot to this image.
Looking forward to see more of your images from the trip.

Registered on January 4, 2008, 98 Posts, 1403 Comments

Comment posted by Kory Lidstrom on March 25, 2014 at 11:44 PM

Love the light in this and the DOF is perfect. The bugs are a nice touch.

Registered on November 19, 2008, 49 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on March 28, 2014 at 3:29 PM

Another great one Morkel,
Congratulations on the WP . . .

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on March 28, 2014 at 7:05 PM

Will be exactly there in 4 weeks! Please ask this fellow to stick around.
Excellent image - great action with the flying water, and spectacular golden light. Is that a baby near his hip?
Congrats on another really fine WP!

Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on March 29, 2014 at 9:26 AM

Hello Morkel

Congrats on WP! well deserved:)

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on March 30, 2014 at 3:15 PM

I know I haven't spent a lot of time lately in the wildlife gallery (just that time of year for me)...but really have no idea how I missed this one. Beautiful image Morkel with a ton of impact! Congratulations on the WP.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on March 30, 2014 at 4:04 PM

Thanks a bunch, folks

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on January 3, 2015 at 3:04 PM

Hello Morkel

CONGRATS!

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments

Comment posted by Mario Moreno on January 4, 2015 at 5:50 AM

Well deserved Morkel !!

Registered on January 24, 2012, 163 Posts, 369 Comments

Comment posted by Ingrid Vekemans on January 4, 2015 at 11:37 AM

Great shot, Morkel, congratulations on your HM!

Grt, Ingrid.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 138 Posts, 780 Comments