Hippo
Taken from a boat on the Chobe river in Botswana
Taken from a boat on the Chobe river in Botswana
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Feb, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken while on a riverboat on the Chobe River, Botswana, Africa. Hippos and crocodiles were all around us and we were totally thrilled.Time
This was taken early one morning, the best time to view wild creatures while on safari. As the day gets hotter they tend to rest or sleep, while early in the day they are often more active. The hippos, on the other hand, would've been feeding on land during the night hours, and were now semi-submerged in the cool river.Lighting
The early morning sunlight reflected off the hippo's wet skin and danced off the water. It also provided a great reflection in its wild-looking eye!Equipment
I used a Nikon D7100 with a Nikkor 18-300 mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens, no filter or flash. I handheld it as I was leaning over the bows of a crowded riverboat!Inspiration
The hippos were mainly dozing in the water after their night's activity, and I was waiting with my camera zoomed in and ready for some of them to get restless or annoyed, as they often do when disturbed by their neighbours. This one really lost its temper and roared! I was ready for it, making sure I got the highlight in the eye.Editing
For this photo I cropped in somewhat to focus attention more tightly on the animal's head. I couldn't predict which animal would move so had a wider crop originally to include other animals in case they moved suddenly. I added contrast in Adobe Lightroom and then in Adobe Photoshop CC I dodged the highlights in the water drops and the eye and also heightened the reflections on the skin by dodging.In my camera bag
On safari I travel as lightly as possible. I only carry the camera 18-300 mm lens so I'm ready for most situations, and I wouldn't want to be changing lenses out in the field because of the amount of dust around. I don't carry a speedlight as if its dark you don't get out of the safari vehicle for safety reasons! Of course I always have spare batteries and cards - imagine coming upon a wonderful scene with lions or elephants and running out of battery power or card space!Feedback
You can find hippos in all the national parks in Africa which I have visited. However, you rarely find them on land during the day as they feed there at night and keep cool in the water during the day. You do need a long lens as they may be in the middle of wide rivers, and even if you are in a boat, as I was, the boats tend to keep well away from these notoriously bad-tempered creatures - if they want to, they can upturn boats. If you are patient even the most docile-seeming group of hippos will tend to get restless and start squabbling, making for some great images.
