The Shot Chat | IV. Dugong Debate

Technical details: Nikon D300S, Tokina Fisheye 10-17 at 10mm, SEA&SEA YS-D2 strobes, f/9, 1/250, ISO 250 (same settings for all images).

Location: Red Sea, Egypt.

Author: Anita Kainrath

We enjoyed Richard Barnden’s input so much during the special edition UPY 2021 Primer (his recounting of what it was like to win is a must-read) that we’ve invited him back to help us here, bringing his trademark, energetic wisdom.

Let The Shot Chat Begin…

Anita Kainrath: Okay Chat Team .. Here are my shots. Why do some work and some not so much in your opinion? I personally like to shoot animals in their surroundings. I also don't always shoot up and I think that's okay and gives you a different perspective…

Grant Thomas: Absolutely love these pictures! My favourites are definitely 2 and 3. Mainly because I prefer the lower composition which creates nice negative space around the subject. I guess you were also slightly closer which means the colour, clarity etc... is much better as well. It's hard to pick between the two images as I like the strong eye contact of 3 but prefer the overall action of everything happening in 2. I also prefer the darker water column in the background on 2 which I feel helps make the dugong stand out due to the lighter skin colour. Overall I'm drawn more towards 2.

Shane Gross: 2 and 3 are my favs. Very tough to choose between them for me.

Henley Spiers: 2 is my favourite and I actually find it to be a very strong image. It is both dynamic and harmonious. We can sense the action as the dugong munches with the juvenile golden trevally swirling around, and sand billowing in the background, and we catch just enough of the dugong's eye to feel a connection. There is also great harmony, in a scene which could easily feel messy. We have foreground seagrass, then the imposing figure of the dugong, the trevally add colour and are beautifully positioned, one either side and both looking at the camera, then we have the sand clouds, with blue sea above. It works beautifully, and you know what, one of my favourite things about the image is the lighting which brings out the hairs on his snout, standing proudly like a budding puberty beard, with shadows reinforcing their presence - it just adds that extra dose of character which means for me this is not just a behaviour shot, but a compelling portrait too. I think this is a great shot. I should note that I may have a positive bias, as whilst I have seen dugong shots, I've never seen or photographed them in person, so this image does have even greater appeal to me.

3 is my second favourite, again, I like the fact that we are low down, as that's where the action is happening, and we get more sense of a large animal. The juvenile trevally also helps to reinforce the idea of size, and both it and the dugong have eye contact with the viewer. For me, this shot is strong but I prefer the dynamism, harmony, and yes, puberty beard lighting in the other.

4: This shot doesn't work as much for all the reasons the previous two do...no eye contact and I don't feel either the scale or the heat of the action from this vantage point.

1: I find this to be the weakest image of the selection, too much negative space above and behind the dugong. A crop in to lessen those would help, but it's not in the same league as the first two images in my estimation. I also feel like maybe the horizon is just slightly off kilter, like the dugong is leaning back a bit...There might be an avenue for it as a black and white image, where perhaps the billowing sand could come out looking pretty cool against a black background.

Just like you know you're giving a good present when you half wish you could keep it, image 2 is the one I wish I had taken, which is a good test to apply at times. I hope it gets to live a full and enriching life, I can see it working in publications, stock, and competitions.

Anita Kainrath: Thank you for the very detailed feedback - I think I agree.. I like the 2nd most even though I like the eye-contact better in the 3rd. I still like the one from above though.. but yes .. eye contact would be nice, I agree. Easy fix - I'll just fly back to the Red Sea real quick and look for it again lol!

Richard Barnden: Thanks once again everyone for giving me a little more time with you all. I know you'll be bored of me soon enough so I will take any last opportunity I get. You guys are all rockstars when it comes to judging or commenting on each others images and theres no way my comments will come close but I will do my best.

Awesome..I have never been in the water with a dugong so I can only imagine how cool that was and to be lucky enough to see one feeding is pretty special. There are about 300+ in Palau, I think they are a sub species but super shy.

My favourite is 2 as well, I love the fact that there is grass in the foreground which has been nicely lit and giving the image a little more colour than the others. The way the dugong is positioned centre frame with one juvenile golden trevally in the front, head-on and the other side-on at the back works so well, with the main subject’s eye contact keeping most of your attention right in the middle. I also love the way the disturbed sand is floating along in the background like some kind of early morning fog. It's a classic grower, the more you look at it the better it gets.

I do like image 3 a lot as well. The things I like other than the subject itself are the level positioning and nice composition with the juvenile fish looking out from the side of the dugongs head like two friends or work mates is great. If the sand in the very foreground had caught the light a little more, especially the sand being blown out I think it would have been a closer contender with image 2. Love it though...

Jade Hoksbergen: Hi Anita, first off, love these shots, and I appreciate them all the more because I still have not been in the water with these beautifully blobby mammals. It appears that a consensus has already been formed and I am conforming -- but for me too, out of all the images you have shared, shot 2 is the strongest. I like it because I think the dugong exudes great character in this image, even despite not having the strongest eye contact, the photograph is evidently taken very close to the subject, and the intimacy can be felt. Through this image, I can feel a connection to the subject.

Now, at the risk of having an unpopular opinion...Regarding the composition, it actually bugs me that the dugong is bang-on centre. For me, this type of composition, where the subject is placed bang-on centre work very well when there is symmetry. Due to positioning of the dugong, I would prefer to see him closer to one extremity of the frame.

Anita Kainrath: Thank you for your feedback on the images. I corrected the sand issue on the corner- thanks! And yeah.. it's not ideal having the subject in the middle but the two juvenile fish might have saved the image there? But definitely a good point and a golden rule!

Shane Gross: I think the dugong being in the center doesn’t hurt the image because the eye is a third from top and the fish are on the golden ratio. The other area of interest is the mouth as he is feeding, which is a third from the bottom. Maybe that's too technical, but I look at it and it just works.

Grant Thomas: I have to agree with Shane here. I don't think it hurts the image at all, if anything I think it adds to the dramatic impact with both fish helping to encompass and frame the dugong’s face

Jade Hoksbergen: That’s my only critique - I do think it’s a really good photograph and love the “smoky” effect with the sand blowing off the ground as the dugong feeds... adds to the dramatic effect

Very technical indeed Shane! Golden rules are there but at the end of the day, what makes an image great is more than just measurements. For instance, image 4 may not work for Henley because of the vantage point. But I actually really like image 4 and it might just have evolved to be my new favourite. When I see the picture, I just think “the apocalypse”. It’s a dramatic scene for me, with the dugong’s head looking like a skull and all the “smoke” around...

Very curious — which one is YOUR favourite out of them @Anita?

Anita Kainrath: Very interesting Jade - the apocalypse! I see what you mean. Love it. I honestly like the apocalypse (4) and the group's favourite (2) the most. But maybe it's because I just remember looking down, observing the animal from above - just soaking up the moment because I knew how special it was. Maybe this image is more a sweet memory than a great shot you know?

Jade Hoksbergen: Yes, the emotions sometimes do cloud our judgement and affect how much we value an image we’ve taken, I often feel very attached because of how fond I was of the moment the photograph was taken... For yours, I only have the image to go off on, and it works for me.