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River Stroll
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River Stroll



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Hippo takes a leisurely underwater stroll

Hippo takes a leisurely underwater stroll
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upload_dateAug, 2015

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5982

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Awards

Contest Finalist in Large Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Textures In Animals Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Underwater Games Photo Contest
Featured
Amateur Winner Large Mammals Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Large Mammals Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in At The Aquarium Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Underwater Fun Photo Contest
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Peer Award
cherylmackay Unseeing immunewolf echoMike15 angeljesview4us @RWPhotos1 aquirosc +195
Superb Composition
JamesHarmon RevMarc_0713 billwagner Laineyb93 Lilany lilyb buckygrl +76
Absolute Masterpiece
sabrinajoseph AmandaJayne ricrog RachieBachie TracyDorsch Fujiguy jamiesarkett +73
Top Choice
JayneBug ebrahimfaryabi CURUTCHET jansieminski paullavery cyrillinegoodman KKowalski +72
Magnificent Capture
JT_Foulds deborahv kathyk_abq jekabssilacerps kathyzeckser muse2max mobes +49
Outstanding Creativity
Down2Earthtravelinspirer terryacregan-leidigh SharonKL ivysinkunas blunder leonhugo KonstantinSokolov +26
All Star
Badgrandad lhartney Elliott-Crampton ThomasJerger Grouder MeTooTimesTwo loveMustangs +23
Superior Skill
auksx edwardquinlanfleet zoemeadows markpaul LindaT nettedeitz KarenElvis +18
Genius
CharmaineMcBain VikingAlli
Love it
lisashortellpreece zsoltschwerlichovszky
Virtuoso
kaybeausoleil

Top Ranks

Color Explorer Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Color Explorer Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
All About Water Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
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My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 3Top 10 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 3Top 10 rank week 2
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 3Top 10 rank week 1
Large Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Large Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Large Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Water Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank
Water Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank week 1
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank week 2
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank week 1
Textures In Animals Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Textures In Animals Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
The Animal Kingdom Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Textures In Animals Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
We Love Animals Photo ContestTop 10 rank
We Love Animals Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Underwater Games Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Underwater Games Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 3
Underwater Games Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Our Natural World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Our Natural World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Underwater Games Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Living Creatures Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Living Creatures Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 3
Living Creatures Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
The Battle Of Amateurs Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Battle Of Amateurs Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
The Battle Of Amateurs Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Large Mammals Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Large Mammals Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Deep Blue Photo ContestTop 30 rank
Deep Blue Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
At The Aquarium Photo ContestTop 10 rank
At The Aquarium Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 2
At The Aquarium Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Underwater Fun Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Underwater Fun Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 1Top 10 rank
Zootography Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Zootography Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Zootography Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1

Categories

12 Comments |
NatGold
 
NatGold September 05, 2015
Very brave!!!
saraascalon
saraascalon September 06, 2015
Shot through thick glass at an aquarium. No bravery required, just some post processing to get rid of glare and fingerprints. ;)
ReneStephen
 
ReneStephen September 12, 2015
That is a magical phototure. All your photos are good but this one is special I live hippos.
michellehansenburgess Platinum
 
michellehansenburgess September 12, 2015
Love this!
ReneB
 
ReneB September 13, 2015
Awesomeness!
wildpainter PRO+
 
wildpainter September 14, 2015
Great shot
HaliSowle
 
HaliSowle December 24, 2015
Absolutely love this Sara!
saraascalon
saraascalon December 24, 2015
Thanks Hali!
shema PRO
 
shema February 05, 2016
super!
saraascalon
saraascalon February 05, 2016
Thanks!
virginiarice
 
virginiarice April 05, 2016
Outstanding without glare ??
saraascalon
saraascalon April 05, 2016
Thanks Virginia. It took a lot of work to make this girl presentable. :)
WilliamUnderwood
 
WilliamUnderwood May 01, 2016
Great photo talent!
saraascalon
saraascalon May 01, 2016
Thanks so much, William.
Herbetch
 
Herbetch May 01, 2016
What an amazing photo! Congratulations on your win in large mammals contest!
saraascalon
saraascalon May 01, 2016
Thank you!
JDLifeshots
 
JDLifeshots April 07, 2017
Amazing capture! Congrats.
saraascalon
saraascalon April 07, 2017
Thank you!
kathyk_abq
 
kathyk_abq July 01, 2017
What a great portrait of this wonderful creature! Wonderful job through glass!
saraascalon
saraascalon July 01, 2017
Thank you, Kathy!

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#hippo #Hippopotamus #water #underwater
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Behind The Lens

Location

This little girl was photographed through a filthy, glass-walled enclosure at Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey.

Time

It's an older image so I had to check the metadata in order to remember. Turns out it was captured at 1:52pm on August 27, 2014. Time of day is fairly irrelevant in this case though because it was shot indoors from a dark windowless corridor into a giant tank of water lit from above.

Lighting

As mentioned above, the lighting was less than ideal. It was a pretty dark scene with overhead lighting that reflected off both sides of the glass and bounced all over the water. Add a lot of finger prints and hippo snot on the glass to the mix and you've got a pretty challenging shot for a beginner to deal with.

Equipment

Shot this handheld with my first DSLR, a Nikon D3200 and a nifty fifty (Nikon 50mm, f/1.8) wide open. The D3200 is a great little camera, but doesn't exactly excel in low light situations. This lens, coupled with an ISO of 1600 (pushing the limits of this little camera that could) were my only chance at working in this light. Fortunately, my subject paused long enough for me to fire off a few shots with no motion blur.

Inspiration

I love all animals from the smallest to the largest. (Well, except for snakes. Not a big snake fan.) But there aren't many opportunities to view, let alone photograph some as large as this in the suburbs of Philadelphia. So, when I encountered Genny and her sister Button (sadly, I don't know which of the two this one is) at a local aquarium I was determined to push my skills to the limits – I had only been studying photography for a year at this point – to bring home a photographic trophy of sorts.

Editing

This image required quite a bit of post-processing to temper the reflections from the glass and in the water and bring out her skin texture. I used a combination of Lightroom and On One's Perfect Effects to help with the toning and noise reduction and Photoshop to remove distracting debris in the water as well as a large rock in the foreground.

In my camera bag

The D3200 I used for this shot was quickly replaced with a D7100 that I used exclusively until I recently upgraded (again) to the Nikon D750. What a game changer moving up to full frame is! I almost always have the Nikon 24-120mm f/4 mounted as a walk-around lens and it serves me wonderfully. I also turn to a Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 (still saving up for that super-telephoto!) for wildlife and an old Nikon 105mm macro when I go hunting for much, much smaller game.

Feedback

Patience is key when shooting animals. Watch their behavior for awhile so that you can anticipate what they'll do and where they'll go. And then be ready for that special gesture or expression. If they're on the move, pre-focus on the area you expect them to head to. And make sure to focus on their eyes. Sharp eyes with catch lights will make a connection with your viewer. And know your gear before you head out on your shoot. You don't want to miss that great shot because you're fiddling with buttons and wheels.

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