Hippo rising out of water, in b&w

[Canary]

Hi everyone, I took this photo at the zoo recently and just did some quick processing in Picasa 3.0. I'm still waiting for my CS4 to arrive, that will be another steep learning curve, but I digress

Just wanting some critique on the overall composition - I feel that this image is quite a strong one due to the beady staring eye (and boy did that hippo glare for ages... but they are short sighted so he was probably trying to focus on me focussing on him!). What I could have done to increase the 'striking' factor for the viewer?

On a more pedantic note, I am mildly concerned with the blown-out highlights on the left of the photo, and a tidy-up of the various water bubbles at the top right of the frame might be useful.

If you would like to comment on any of the other photos in my Flickr set, please feel free to do so.

Thanks in advance!



EXIF data:
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1250)
Aperture: f/9.0
Focal Length: 73 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

[Artdrea]

maybe a closer crop and also notice how the pupil is facing away from you if were facing towards you, you would probably have a more powerful image but i love the concept.

[thenunsofgaborone]

What time of the day were you shooting this, I only ask because you have used ISO 800 and in broad daylight that makes the sensor in your camera a bit too sensitive and may have caused the highlights to blow. (Daylight 200-400)
As Artdrea has suggested I would have probably cropped it a bit closer or used the zoom closer. If the light was a problem used a flash dialled down to help light the animal and create a catch light in the eye. (Not always necessary in animals near water as the reflections off the water do this for you).

Hippos are difficult to photograph as they don't always give you a great deal but you've captured the the phlegmatic essence of the animal, although they do have a very dramatic side too. I actually much prefer your image Hippo 02 - Fudge in your flickr set that is a very nice shot.

Are your underwater shots on your flickr site shot through glass? If they are, a friend of mine gave me a good tip (if you are allowed to use a flash) and that is to use a lens hood not a tulip one but one which fits flush to the glass like the universal rubber ones. This then shields the the lens from the reflection off the glass but illuminates the subject. It works quite well.

[Canary]

Thanks for all the comments so far.

Artdea - the funny thing is, I could've sworn the hippo was looking directly at me when I took the shot. Perhaps I can do some more post-processing with the eye highlights to make it more obvious.

I was shooting in the late morning/early afternoon and it was a really miserable day (full of cloud, lots of glare, and rain spitting down upon us). Zoom was also a problem as this was shot at the zoo and we could only get so close to the animals... that and the fact I was using an EF-S 17-85

As for the underwater shots - the glass was about three feet thick and there was another foot of space between visitors and the tank, probably to stop people knocking on the glass. I will have to keep the lens hood trick in mind for when I try and get photos of our goldfish, what a handy tip!

[MSidPhoto]

good try.....of course its too risky to go in closer to get a better look
Good job anyways