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Fighting Hippos
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Fighting Hippos



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Fighting Hippos in St Lucia, South Africa

Fighting Hippos in St Lucia, South Africa
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cameraNIKON D600

settings Aperture f/5.6 ISO 1600 Shutter 1/250 Focal Length 500/1 

upload_dateApr, 2016

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3853

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Awards

Contest Finalist in We Love Animals Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Our Natural World Photo Contest
Member Selection Award
Contest Finalist in On The Wild Side Photo Contest
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Contest Finalist in Animal Kingdom Photo Contest Vol 1
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sabrinajoseph Chars Loekie eddiaz shellylaundy gustavopereira mariamcdonald +79
Absolute Masterpiece
karinmcfarlane donaldgbrown Svenergy72 pietnel karengeddes chuckrickman debhearn +53
Top Choice
BARoland titter anjavanderdonk Lotastica Pamelabole alexandrudinulescu Noodle92 +50
Magnificent Capture
JayneBug Kyutani roberthayes LaraJ amazed marywifall rodwilson +31
Outstanding Creativity
johnjamesgapas darylchamlee BrunoHeeb kali-kat tracyfinn ajtheamateur leonconradie +16
Superior Skill
jmcastanos richardpetersen Gillybeans leifmagnesworld Arzhtatiana Fotoragr mlaff0842 +7
All Star
Reebee loveMustangs JudithBain shema AnnuO mle555 shaundasmithroberts +6
Genius
ichrimo vitor chezbriand johannesoehl

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All About Water Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Anything Animals Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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Everything Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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All Things Black And White Photo ContestTop 10 rank
All Things Black And White Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
We Love Animals Photo ContestTop 10 rank
We Love Animals Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Image of the Year Photo Contest 2016Top 10 rank
Image of the Year Photo Contest 2016Top 10 rank week 1
Our Natural World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Our Natural World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Freshmen 2016 Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank
Freshmen 2016 Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank week 2
On The Wild Side Photo ContestTop 10 rank
On The Wild Side Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
On The Wild Side Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Animal Kingdom Photo Contest Vol 1Top 10 rank
Animal Kingdom Photo Contest Vol 1Top 10 rank week 2
Animal Kingdom Photo Contest Vol 1Top 10 rank week 1

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8 Comments |
Pjerry
 
Pjerry September 29, 2016
Wonderful capture
Arzhtatiana
 
Arzhtatiana December 14, 2016
Congratulations! An amazing shot!
edandaniphone PRO+
 
edandaniphone December 16, 2016
Awesome shot.
mcannavo
 
mcannavo December 16, 2016
exquisite composition - beautifully rendered. Love the intimate interaction of the animals and expression in the eyes.
jlappen
 
jlappen December 17, 2016
Unbelievable photo. I tried to give you a GENIUS rating, but my finger slipped off the key :-)
p_eileenbaltz Platinum
 
p_eileenbaltz March 10, 2017
Voted in 'we love animals' contest.
jlappen
 
jlappen April 11, 2017
Just GENIUS!!!
shellylaundy
 
shellylaundy May 23, 2017
Wonderful photo

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#hippo #wildlife #safari #southafrica
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Behind The Lens

Location

The photo was taken in the KwaZulu-Natal estuary in St Lucia, South Africa. The estuary is home to at least 800 Hippos who dominate this area. They share a complex inter-linking eco-system with more than a 1 000 Crocodiles and an amazing array of birds. The wetland waters are wonderfully fertile and teeming with mud prawns, shrimps, fish and all kinds of aquatic life. Birds that can be spotted include Pelicans, Fish Eagles, Kingfishers, Great White Egrets, Eastern Golden Weavers, and Goliath Herons. Should you ever visit South Africa, don't miss this amazing estuary.

Time

Our boat safari started at around 16:00 in October last year. This photo was taken during early sunset which made the light a bit softer and also woke up the hippo's for some serious fighting. Their skin got a nice golden and the shadows were minimal due to some clouds.

Lighting

I wanted to keep the natural feeling of these beautiful animals and their habitat as pure as possible. I used only natural light in combination with maximum aperture to draw the attention of the viewer to the fight and create a soft background.

Equipment

I bought a Nikon 200-500mm F5.6 tele lens for this trip. I have a Nikon D600 and a 24-70mm 2.8 allround lens which I use most of the time. I bought a manfrotto monopod for the 200-500mm lens which which gives me more flexibility than a tripod during safaris. For landscapes, I use a manfrotto tripod and a Lee Big-Stopper, ND filter.

Inspiration

For this shot I did not want to be a spectator, I wanted to be part of the fight. My purpose is to show the world the raw nature of these hippo's in their environment. It is so pure, that it becomes beautiful to me. To add energy and suspense to this photograph, I asked the boat owner to open the entrance doors so that I could lay on the ground of the boat and take this action photograph. Fortunately, he allowed this for a couple of minutes. After this, I realised that hippo's are amongst the most dangerous animals out there, especially in their natural habitat!

Editing

To get more focus on the hippo's I converted the image in black and white in lightroom and added some contrast and vignette. Since I wanted to keep the natural beauty of this photo, post processing was relatively minimal.

In my camera bag

Depends on the bag :) Usually I carry my Manfrotto 190x, 16-35mm F4, 24-70mm F2.8 lens, Nikon D600, Lee Big-Stopper ND Filter, Lee Little-Stopper, remote control and led light with me. Also I carry a raincoat to protect my equipment in the rain.

Feedback

When you travel try to do some pre-work at home to see how the environment looks like, what spots have water or height, how bussy it is, if it is accessible by car? When at your destination, check when the sun comes up and goes down (apps available), ask local people about their favorite spots, have a chat with a driver or boat owner (so that he/she opens the door for you as mentioned previously;), check tide times, where the east and west is and also check on google for some photographs to get a better feeling. Also have some patience (which gives you more time to relax), you might have to go back to the same location a couple of times to capture that one shot. Enjoy and good luck!

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