Smile, you're at Mr. Smiley's, a photo from Tenerife, Canarias

Photographer's Note

The title is a quotation from the American Beauty movie, as you probably recall. I thought of it when I saw the Sling's face just a few centimetres away looking at me with curiosity. The picture was taken at Loro Parque, a very interesting zoo/theme park located in Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife island. The building with aquariums is dark inside - only the aquariums are lit. It's not that much light, to be sure. I had to use my bright 50 mm prime and set ISO to 2000 to achieve the shutter speed more or less convenient for moving subjects.

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Critiques | Translate

danielswalsh (13591) 2008-09-21 18:58

I believe this is an Eagle Ray. I have dove with and fed them at the Singapore underwater world. They're amazingly soft and have become quite used to the visitors there- often behaving more like excited puppy dogs as they know that you have food.

You have an interesting angle on this one, clearly showing the mouth which contains two plates which are used for crushing shellfish like cockles.

nice one,
- Dan