Hippopotamus takes a walk

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Camera	Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Exposure	(1/800)
Aperture	f/5.6
Focal Length	700 mm
ISO Speed	160
Exposure Bias	0 EV

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Sanjeev, great POV, love it, IMHO spot on, good work.

I would crop out the highlight spot on the LHS, I think the image can take it. I would also selectively drop the exposure on the grass, just brings things up a bit more and add either some mid tone or again, add some Exposure just to bring the hide down a tad more and to reduce the lighter parts, not much, but it helps. Personally I might remove the green clump on the rear & knock back the branch stem, but just personal choice. There is some clipping in the shadow areas, not much, but try to avoid it, likewise I might add some more selective sharpening to the subject. Upping the ISO for more SS and DOF I think also would have helped overall, you had it, use it. This wasn't taken in the grounds of a hotel by chance?

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Sanjeev - A view of a hippo we don't often get to see. Great low pov and I like the angled body and placement in the frame. Again in the field I would have upped the ISO to be able to get more ss and to stop down for additional dof, especially with a body angled like that. It looks a little light in places and I would give the midtones a boost and darken the fg grasses. Definitely another image that it's worth it to make minor tweaks to take it to the next level.

TFS,
Rachel

[Martin Dunn]

Sanjeev, this is a lovely photo. The only time I've ever see hippo from such a viewpoint was from a canoe on the Lower Zambezi.

The greys and pinks of the hippo's head look about right to to me but I think you can make this better by giving some attention to the top and bottom thirds of the image.
The top is very bright and is causing the top of the hippo's back to be very light. You could reduce the brightness quite a bit here.
The grass at the bottom is also a bit bright and could do with darkening, as could the bushes to left and right.
I think this could be a really super shot with a bit more time spent in PP.

[hennieloots]

Hi sanjeev - Super shot from a great angle. Excellent to be able the see the entire big guy. I like the details in the "whiskers" - don't really know what you call them on a hippo! I agree with the comments made already & think Martin's last line is spot-on.
TFS
Hennie

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Thank you all. We were heading from the Mara plains to the Mara triangle and en route we spotted this Hippo grazing. I was quiet glad to get this guy in full view and facing us. Will re work acc to your suggestions. I am traveling right now, am in Madrid. Will get back after the weekend. Cheers
Sanjeev

[Steve Canuel]

Nice to see the face as well as the toes. A little dodging on the bright spot in the LLC and a touch of sharpening around the eyes for me. I also like the different bands of color of the BG.