David, my initial impression of one of confusion. With so many overlapping zebras, it's hard to identify a single subject. None of the animals are sharply isolated or engaging the viewer with direct eye contact, which leaves the image without a strong focal point. But as you wrote, it was a fun shot so having said that, the image does capture the chaotic beauty of a dazzle of zebras in the wild. Nonetheless, without clear separation or a leading element, the viewer's eye tends to wander.   Posted: 10/09/2025 14:36:51

David, I think this shot definitely provides the sense of confusion you are after. Until I examined the four nearest zebras closely, and settled on the two facing animals, my eyes were not sure where to land. The black and white presentation helps here too--the background zebras sort of blend in. Question: The background zebras have a slightly unnatural appearance. Is this how the exposure started out, or were they digitally blurred?   Posted: 10/09/2025 23:40:11

I really like this from the standpoint of telling a story, and the wonderful patterns that we get with their stripes. There's a nice repetition with the 2 looking at us in between the 2 looking to the left. I think you can make this pattern stronger by cropping more closely, eliminating everything under the bellies. I'd also like to see this much brighter, black-and-white rather than shades of gray.
For me this is more about artistry than impact / competition. I'd consider printing this. I like it a lot.   Posted: 10/10/2025 20:11:01

If you intent is to show confusion this works quite well. While looking over the image my eye just can't find a place to rest. To me the image seems a bit under exposed and this makes it look muddy and gloomy. Should you choose to brighten the image it will reveal greater detail and eliminate much of the gloom. I really do not know what is going on in the background and some of the more distant zebras appear to be purposefully blurred. That might be an artistic effect, but I do not feel it works here. dI feel you might have a stronger image with a tighter crop showing the expression of one of the zebra's faces,   Posted: 10/15/2025 19:18:03

David, this is a great capture. I looked for something like this myself when I was in Kenya. The zebras exhibit this behavior to confuse potential predators, but also to watch for them. I like that you captured the two looking over the backs of their herd companions. I agree with Cindy and Larry that the original image needs some work to sharpen it and reveal more detail in the prime subjects. That said, you have an image that tells a story, and that's the important part. Cheers, Bud   Posted: 10/21/2025 23:49:09