This photo was taken at a hippo pool at Serengeti National Park.
ISO 2000 11mm f/14 1/1250sec
It was taken in the middle of the day so lots of contrast between the bright light and dark hippos, making a good exposure a bit of a challenge. Here is the original photo:
ISO 2000 11mm f/14 1/1250sec
The camera handled the exposure fairly well, but I wasn’t crazy about it, even though it was a good representation of the scene. The vegetation is a distraction, and really I wanted the photo to be more focused on the hippo faces, many of whom were looking at the camera. Cropping the photo helped with that. From there I applied a filter that darkened the photo overall and a vignette to draw attention away from the water a bit.
Do you think this edit helped the photo be a better portrait of this crowd? Your thoughts are welcome below.
Cheers!
Photography Journal Blog 
Loved your choice for the week Amy. I think I prefer the original shot altho your edit makes good use of the vignetting.
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Thanks Tina!
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What an extraordinary experience and the photo is superb.
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Thank you!
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Very cool, Amy! I like the original one too. 🙂
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Thanks very much Amy!
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Liked your choice.
My take on “A Face in the Crowd”.
https://wordpress.com/post/satyaanveshan.wordpress.com/659
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I have to agree with Tina. I like the original shot better (just some honest feedback!). I felt the vegetation offered a bit of context – that the hippos were lazing around in a pond and the original photo gave me the ‘outside looking in’ feel. You took a very, very good shot in the first place 😊 But I do like how you drew attention to the hippos in the second shot. Bit too much vignette for my liking, though 🙂
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Thank you, Mabel, for your honest thoughts on this. I particularly was struck by your thoughts on the vegetation which I didn’t even think about leaving it, but you are right it does create a context for this photo. The vignette was heavy, and I think the potential issue here is how often we don’t use a vignette for nature photography, so I think that is a valid criticism as well.
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I was going to say the vignette was dark, but all vignettes are dark. You hit the nail on the head by describing it as heavy. It is not a photo that you see too often – and it did catch my attention for what it is, lol. The edited photos makes me feel like I am looking at the hippos using a telescope.
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That’s a good point, that it is like a telescope. I was definitely trying to accent the faces and ignore the water.
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I like the definition from the edit. And, wow, what a photo. 🙂
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Thanks!
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Hello, your photo as usual is nice. I like your subject too! But, I’d prefer better the original! 🙂
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Thanks for your honest thoughts on this.
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Yes, I really like the improved photo and what you’ve done with the image, Amy! It helped when you explained that you wanted the faces to “pop out” and when I went back to view the photo again, I saw them! The pink-gray of ears, noses, etc. was nicely featured. As always, thanks for explaining your thought process, I really enjoy reading about it. 🙂
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Thank you, this week generated quite a split in what the viewers of the blog thought of the edits. I will probably go back and create another version based on that, just to think about it some more.
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So great to hear you, too, are inspired by reader feedback to try something different from what you already had. Kudos!
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Honestly, in this day of digital editing, I can just work up another version without getting rid of this version I already have, which makes it much easier to think and re-create in creative ways.
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Good point!
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🙂
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That is quite a crowd. Big fellows! And they look so peaceful resting on each other (but of course, looks can be deceiving). I like your processing, although maybe the vignetting is a little too much in my opinion.
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Thank you for your honest opinion. They do look peaceful, don’t they? but I couldn’t help but notice that they also looked like they were sizing us up in a very intelligent sort of way.
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I wouldn’t want to get close to them, that’s pretty sure…
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Yes, we kept a distance. There were some near where we were camping and I was woken up by one, not from the sound buy the vibration of the ground caused by its feet. A powerful animal indeed.
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Hi Amy, What a fantastic set of faces! I like your post-processing to isolate them with the vignette, however, I think the original gives a natural sense of place with the leaves in the foreground. Terrific shot.
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Yes, I was struck by a lot of the different animal faces I saw on safari, it was a great trip. I think I will go back and edit this in another way and see if I can make peace as well with the color of the water.
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Excellent photo(s). I love the first one.
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Thanks very much!
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Love all of these precious faces 🙂
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Looking at them, it was obvious that they were pretty intelligent too.
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Love me some hippos!
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Yes, I like the vignette..it does what you intended it to do, and the darker photo definitely changes the mood:)
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Thank you very much for your thoughts on this and for your visit to my blog.
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Visiting the Serengeti has long been on my bucket list since I was a child.
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Well worth a visit. I would suggest going just off a peak season though, so you wouldn’t have to jostle with so many people in an attempt to get a photo.
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