Curious Otter

Right after I stepped out of my car to shoot a GBH at the edge of a canal I caused a pair of very close by otters to swim to the other side of the water. They continued to feed underwater and come up for air, and to chew on whatever it was they were eating (not fish) and to look at me. They were very accepting of my presence so I got lots of captures of them. This is my favorite of one popping up out of the water for a good look at me. I had a great time.

Type of Critique Requested

  • Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
  • Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
  • Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
  • Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.

Specific Feedback and Self-Critique

I like the way it turned out but I really rode the fence on it being a vertical or horizontal crop which I am especially interested in comments.

Technical Details

Z9, Nikon 200-500 lens, hand held, 1/3200th, f 8.0, 750mm, ISO 2200, cropped to 5392 x 3592, Photo AI

Nice catch, Dave. A very appealing image. I might crop just a tad off the left so the otter isn’t centered, but that’s minor. I got a smile when I saw this. Technicals look fine. Well done.

Oh sweet! I love it when they do this. Like when whales spy-hop. I’ve only ever caught them doing it when I’m in the kayak though, never on foot. I like the horizontal orientation because it lets us see the ripples and wake it caused in the water. They are so energetic and hardly ever still that I think this conveys that well. Looks like the nictitating membrane is not engaged for this, which is interesting. Could be the angle of the light though, too. Isn’t their fur incredible? Check out that sheeting action.

Hello, I echo others comments. I like this horizontal crop as it does highlight the ripples in the water.

I like it as it is, but will work nice as a vertical too.
Since it is not showing full reflection, you may crop it off from near the circular wave.

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