The Shot Chat | VII. Dolphin Shot Splits Opinions

In this edition, the Shot Chat team debate the merits of Henley Spiers’ unusual dolphin image, with reigning Underwater Photographer of the Year Renee Grinnell Capozzolla kindly joining us as guest star (we’ll try to hang onto her for long enough for her to also take the hot seat, so watch this space).

Let The Shot Chat Begin…

Henley Spiers: Whilst I am aware there are flaws to this image, I am very fond of it and find it to have high impact. It's a shot of a spinner dolphin superpod, taken whilst hanging off the bow of the boat...I was trying to capture a split shot of these fast-moving animals and this was the best frame I got...With a couple of the world's leading exponents of split level imagery amongst us, I'm really asking for a bruising here. Don't hold back now...

Renee Grinnell Capozzola: OK, with being the newbie here, I definitely was not wanting to go first ... but I don’t see any takers yet and it’s the morning where I am and I just picked up my vanilla latte so I’m going to bite the bullet and be the first to comment...

So, I have actually seen this image before and I remember liking this picture, as my first immediate reaction was that it caught my attention. Now, of course with it being a split shot which I have an almost obsessive affinity for, it grabbed me but it also caught my eye for a lot of other reasons. First off, this picture definitely has a wow factor and I am impressed that Henley chose to go for a split shot as opposed to just dunking his camera completely under the water with hanging over the boat, as that would’ve been obviously a lot easier. I have photographed dolphins a lot here in Hawaii and they are definitely very fast moving animals and can be difficult to photograph, so with choosing to go for a split in the open ocean, Henley definitely had some balls here!

As he mentioned, there are some “flaws” as some of the rules of split shots have been broken, such as not having a given subject in the above half portion of the image and some of the animals being cut off in the frame. However, rules are meant to be broken sometimes, especially for a unique and different photograph. What makes this image successful as a split shot is the fact that the dolphin on the left side of the frame has part of its body and its prominent dorsal fin above the water, thus providing a unique above water subject. The composition of the dolphins under the water, all moving in the same direction, is pleasing to the eye (although for a moment I did wonder if the surface-breaking dolphin was moving in the opposite direction). There is also a nice symmetry with the three dolphins on the left, and the smaller dolphins on the right provide something in the frame so the image isn’t unbalanced with empty blue on the right. The blue is a nice blue, the sun rays are good, and the dolphins are sharp. The settings that you chose look to be spot on. Last thing to add on the positives is that the splashing of water of the above water dolphin on the left really emphasises the fast dynamic movement of the dolphins.

And now for the critiques....do I have to do this part?!

Well, as I mentioned, some of the dolphins are cut off but with the fast moving action here, that’s not a deal breaker for me.

The thing that bothers me the most about this picture is the fisheye effect with the curved meniscus of the water as it’s really curved here. Now this may be a totally personal thing as there are many different opinions on rectilinear versus fisheye for certain types of photos, but in my opinion, I would have preferred a straighter water line, although some of this curved effect is obviously the moving ocean and not just the lens. I’m not sure what lens this would equate to in Nikon as I use Canon, but Canon has an ultra wide 11-24mm rectilinear lens which works well for splits when it is stopped down to F18-22. You used F10 which works in this frame but if you had something more distant in the background, you’d probably need to close the aperture more to get that in focus.

And, this is a very small thing, but the color of the sky is a little weird as it is darker at the top and then fades to white near the water line. I have had this problem sometimes as well and find that this happens with using a higher ISO and at certain times of the day.

Bottom line is I really love this photo and I am a bit envious that you have a successful split shot of dolphins as this is something that I do not yet have! Thanks for sharing this awesome picture and I am curious what the others have to say now.

Shane Gross: When I first saw it I was underwhelmed. I think there is a much better frame to be made out of this situation. Looking again, and bigger, gave me slightly more appreciation for it. I like the action splash of the top dolphin and the repeat down the left side of the frame...but the tail of the bottom dolphin being cut off bothers me. The right side of the frame doesn't offer much. The shape of the water’s surface is weird. Fluffy clouds in the sky would be nice. It's an okay image, but again, there is a better frame to be made here. Delete.

Anita Kainrath: Haha I KNEW you would be mentioning the "nothing" in the sky on the right part Shane lol.. I know where that comes from. But I agree with you.. Couldn't you call a seabird in or something for the shot?! I LOVE the splashes from the closest dolphin. The fisheye effect seems very strong - a little too much for my taste. The water color is beautiful and who doesn't love dolphins? I like your image Henley! I like the sun beams in the water & that there are dolphins also swimming from the bottom right. I wish I could be there right away. Well captured! But I wish we could see a tiny bit of the closest dolphin’s face.

Grant Thomas: I'm lucky to have had the privilege of a private viewing of this image a couple of months ago when visiting the man himself. I feel just as I did then about it - I think it's unique and almost something very special. The FPV or POV dolphin effect is something I really like, as you almost feel like you are viewing this entire scene from the eyes of another dolphin following behind. I love the splash coming from the breaching dolphin on the left, which makes me feel even more like I’m right there in the middle of the action. Personally, I feel like the points which let the image down are that of technicalities. The upper scene is over exposed which means we have lost detail in the sky and I think you have used a graduated filter to pull it back but some fluffy clouds would have been a nice addition (I see I'm not the only one that likes fluffy clouds though Shane). I would have also liked to see this image shot with a narrower aperture to get more of the water/scene in sharper focus but i know this would have been tricky with trying to get a fast enough shutter and keeping noise levels acceptable. Lastly, I really love the composition with dolphins entering the frame from each lower corner however, I would have preferred a slightly wider shot/crop so that i can see more of the pod on the right and maybe the tail of the splasher on the left.

Overall, I really like the dynamic effect/feel of the image when I look at it. I literally feel like I’m a dolphin and part of the pod! I just think the technical elements are what let it down slightly. But still a big thumbs up from me!! And I’m not just saying that because it's an over-under.

Jade Hoksbergen: I remember how excited you were with this image. I wasn't moved by it then, and I'm not moved by it now. I felt very guilty feeling that way because it was such a stark contrast to how you felt about it. I think this is a good attempt at an image that COULD be extraordinary. The fact that you have a split shot where half the dolphin is above water, and half below is truly special. What I like best about this image is, like Grant, feeling like I'm one of the dolphins in the pod swimming and seeing the scene in front of me from the POV of a dolphin. For a wildlife photograph to be extraordinary, in my opinion, it needs for every element to feel like it is intended to be there. And of course, that's the challenge because much of what happens in the wild is out of our control. A lot of patience, sometimes years and years of trying to shoot the same scene/phenomenon to get THE picture. That said, I am unsatisfied by the composition of the left-hand side of the image with some of many of the dolphins being cut out of frame. I also feel like whilst the dolphin that has half his body out the water should be the 'star of the picture', there is a lack of connection with him/her, a visible face would be nice.... sorry, Henners! Not my fave!

Henley: Right, well that was a bit of bruising encounter, but as The Offspring say: "it's ok because I like the abuse" (yes, yet another dated reference).

It's actually really helpful to get fresh, educated eyes on this shot, you've pointed out some things I hadn't considered, and reinforced others I had tried to push to the back of my mind!

The first thing to admit to is an emotional attachment to the experience of creating this shot....surrounded by thousands of dolphins, riding along without another boat in sight, sharing the experience with friends, and feeling like I was adventurously pursuing new perspectives by hanging the camera over the bow of the boat (with my buddy Cris sat on my back for safety)....well, it was a heady concoction, and even if we are supposed to discount these external factors when evaluating a shot, I think several of our chats to date have shown how difficult that is in practice...and hey, that's probably ok, we want to preserve some emotion and passion, even if it means the odd image over-estimation (I always have Shane to bring me crashing back to reality).

The biggest thing that I continue to value in the shot is that I think it is unique, I haven't seen another like it. It can absolutely be improved, but for now I think it's the only version of the idea. Your point around the fish-eye perspective and alternatives is an interesting one Renee, I have seen David Doubilet use a Nikon 14-24mm 2.8 for splits and maybe that could be an option (I hear it doesn't perform well generally in the water unless stopped down to f22, so it's really one to use exclusively as a splits lens). It's such a big scene I was hoping to capture, with as many dolphins below as possible, plus the moment another dolphin broke the surface, and as it was taken with the boat underway, I had a constant wave to deal with as water washed over the dome...it was really tricky to get two halves in a single frame...but I'd love another crack at it. Added to that, the dolphins were so close, almost touching me, that I had a really tough time fitting their whole body into the frame.

The bright sky was definitely an issue and well noticed Renee, it went from blue up high to white down below...It's not something which bugged me too much, but you have all raised it as a problem - so I think I need to pay more heed to the sky as I work on my splits...and seek out fluffy clouds!

Both the foreground dolphin being cut and the tail of the one below do bug me...there is a better frame to be made, but I don't have it...yet. I think you've put it well, there is an idea for something really special...but this is not quite it.

Shane: Exactly...Time time time...do this enough to get lucky with having the superpod on your bow in the right conditions and a winner of a shot is possible!

Henley: I have people also wondering which way to dolphin at the surface is going...whether he was going with or away from the others, another issue. I tried to help with that by cleaning up some of the water drops so the direction became easier to read...This below is it before any clean-up.

Grant - you're right to pull me up on the technicalities and I was expecting more 'feedback' on that front. I do wonder now if I could get up to f/22, push the ISO and maybe sacrifice a stop of shutter speed...do you think that would have rendered the dolphin's back sharper? Or is that just the movement we're seeing?

It also bugs me that there is a gap in the centre bottom of the frame...I wish there were a few dolphins there...however it has meant this image works well editorially, as text can be written there.

I have entered this image into competitions lately and the judges have so far agreed with your appraisal, as it hasn't even sniffed a shortlist...

So with regret, I will take your feedback on the chin, and look forward to getting back out there to try again!

Renee: Stopping down the lens will help to decrease the brightness in the sky but f/22 would surely make the underwater portion too dark given your other settings

Henley: Yes and bumping up the ISO to compensate might make the issues with dynamic range in the sky even worse.

Shane: Sometimes the sky looks like that even to my naked eye. I'm not sure it's a camera issue...it might just be an aesthetics issue.

Grant: Don’t get me wrong, as I said when I first saw this image I think it is very unique!! I’ve never seen another one quite like it. It’s a great concept and think that with some fine tuning it could be something truly special!

With regards to your question about aperture. I do think that stopping down would help. In my experience when shooting splits now I try to be no wider than F/16. I shoot a canon 5d Mkiv and the noise is still very manageable at iSO 2000. Have even had very successful images at 3200. So, usually I will shoot with high ISO in general so that I have more flexibility with the shutter and aperture

Henley: Good to know - thanks Grant, I now definitely regret not pushing the aperture further.