Here's looking at you... Photo

Photographer’s Note

Another photo of the hippos we saw at the Rhino and Lion Reserve recently. They are amazing animals!

Here's some more info about them, to answer some of the questions about the previous photo:

Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius): The preferred habitat of this species is deep water with adjacent reed beds and grasslands. The hippopotamus is typically a slate brown color to muddy brown, with purplish hues often visible. A massive animal, it measures 1500mm in height at the shoulder and has a length of 4310-5160 mm, of which about 560mm is tail. The eyes and nostrils protrude, allowing the animal to see and breathe while otherwise submerged in the water.

The hippopotamus typically sleeps during the day and maintains activity at night. It is not, however, strictly nocturnal. Hippos may cover up to 33 km of water each night in search of food. They eat mainly the grasses along the shores of the rivers they inhabit, but they have been seen grazing up to 3.2 km from the shoreline.

Hippos are extremely graceful in the water, despite their clumsy appearance on land. Their specific gravity allows them to sink to the bottom of rivers and literally walk or run along the bottom.

The hippopotamus is strictly a vegetarian. Its diet consists mainly of terrestrial grasses. Hippopotamus frequently raid agricultural crops. They can inflict a great deal of damage, and inhibit local economies. They are also highly aggressive creatures and have little fear of humans. They are considered among the most dangerous African animals.

For years, it was reported that the Hippopotamus would sweat blood. We know now that this is not true. The hippo's sweat contains a red pigment, which makes it resemble blood.

Photo taken at a focal length of 270mm.

Midnight_sun, Luko, carper, nwoehnl, avigur_11, jhm, eelliott305, PechePassion, orme, nmaia, cool_s15, PLD_images, jrj, Jeppe has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

gringofil (0) 2004-03-17 3:35

Woha, this is excellent. Really great sharpness, DOF and compo. Great the see the eye so clear...seems like he's looking right at me. Excellent work!

robbertjan (2906) 2004-03-17 3:35

Morning Henry. I like rhino's. There a very cool. Your captured this animal - as useuall- very good. Close and sharp with good colors. I like the way how he looks of the lens. Well done!

Midnight_sun (1939) 2004-03-17 3:40

A perfect shot, the DOF and focus are spot on. I like the reflected water on the skin and the sleepy looking eye. Great shot, well captured.

clodreno (0) 2004-03-17 3:40

It is an amazing animal. I love them. In this picture it's almost like he is smiling.. I can see him looking at me and making fun of me.
Well caught Henry.

olli (2091) 2004-03-17 4:02

I agree with you – they are amazing animals!
Excelent subject and framing. Great tones. The fact that it´s looking at us makes this shot really work. Excellent capture, henry.

Luko (13896) 2004-03-17 4:44

Very good portrait, I like his eye watching at you like he was controling any of your moves.

Very real catch too, from there I could almost smell the stench of the animal.

Each time I see a hippo, I remember when I was 6 years old, a night I spent on the bank of a Tanzanian river, they were going "hummm...humm...huummm" all night, I couldn't sleep. Some of my best rememberings...

jhonny_blue (4954) 2004-03-17 4:49

Wonderful picture Henrye !
The Hippo look at you with a bad eyes ! Be careful ! :)
Congratulations !

carper (65696) 2004-03-17 5:06

Great Henry,

Mooie opname van deze hippo, bij ons noemen ze hem nijlpaard.Fantastic compositie, goede kleuren, good note, very good job here, well done

nwoehnl (120) 2004-03-17 5:25

That's another magnificent hippo closeup, Henry - a good addition to your earlier one, I like to see the hippo in profile this time. The detail is outstanding, I particularly like the eye and nostrils and it looks like the guy didn't shave in a while ;-) Great tones. Excellent.

avigur_11 (21307) 2004-03-17 6:12

Wow, what ashot, and what a note. Henry. I like hippos, and this one is really great. The left part of the image looks like a good piece of fillet steak..well, I don't think I'd eat it, but it has such a color and a texture. I like his dreamy, tired eye, he looks so bored. Didn't you try to make him smile?
A wonderful close up and great colors of the water and the hippo. Especially I like the red tones arroud the eye and the nose. Very well done.

jhm (83352) 2004-03-17 8:03

A perfect shot detail shot Henry, what great and really great sharpness. I like of your picture those are great and the note it beautiful. Thanks.
Bedankt Henry, het is prachtig!!!

eelliott305 (776) 2004-03-17 12:01

A wonderful shot Henry, just as interesting as any portrait I see on TE. The look in his eye is terrific and those hairs around his nose. Just great.

PechePassion (483) 2004-03-17 13:58

2000pts cool ;-)

Belle couleurs et définition ! Le moment est bien choisi pour la prise de vue car il semble nous sourire !
ca à l'air malin comme animal !

dsidwell (9745) 2004-03-17 21:50

This is fantastic. Next time, ask the hippo to make an even more suspicious face! Your point of view is wonderful, and I don't know how you got this creature to look back like that.

orme (6746) 2004-03-17 22:26

Well done Henry, I think you have captured a very gentle looking hippopotamus. The eye is excellent and seems to me to be conveying a lot of emotion. Great colours and texture. Thank you for the very informative note.

nmaia (190) 2004-03-17 23:39

Excellent!
Detail, color and focus are very good.
Well done.

cool_s15 (4048) 2004-03-18 3:15

wow what a close up and details here!!
The cropping and framing are great here. Great sharp details with a great note. Nice captured!

francis (695) 2004-03-18 18:54

Perfect composition. The eye is looking and the thing is alive. The colors are perfect, and this is so sharp. Just a great photo.

PLD_images (7141) 2004-03-19 15:07

Henry, the Hippo pro...

Like this one a lot. This is a very good shot, and technically pretty much perfect. Stunning colours and clarity here. I like this shot for its balance and beauty. The very tight cropping helps to concentrate all the attention on the subject. Nicely done.

JudyH (700) 2004-03-21 11:57

You must have spent some time there - and he really looked interested in you too! This is really great Henry - brilliant composition. I MUST get a better camera! Cheers.

cdewet (0) 2004-03-22 9:48

Dagsê
Die reen laat ons net nie by Marievale uitkom nie
This pano crop is excellent! He is really giving you an "eye"
I would deasatutate just a bit in PS, to take the "sheen off" the skin.
The Rowland Ward Record for a hippo incisor is 4 feet or 1.2m!
Probeer sy oor volgende keer ook kry, dit sal 'n sterker komposisie maak

jrj (34779) 2004-03-23 5:56

I just love the eye and the sideway glancing on this hippo Henry. What a detail in this very good pix.
As always very informative notes..

Jeppe (18623) 2004-03-23 7:38

Very fine photo - and actually funny too ;-) I like the look in he’s eye. Excellent work as usual Henry - thanks for sharing and for the note.

Funny to think you choose the same title as an old Blondie hit :-)

ashmash (199) 2004-03-26 3:34