Dexter

David Yarrow:

‘This image ended up close to the preconceived vision I had on arrival on the Zambezi River; my goal was a full-on face-off portrait of a hippopotamus. I wanted to get close and low, but with thousands of hippos on the Zambezi, this required either a large dose of bravery or a momentarily compliant animal. My guide recommended that I lie on the other bank 30 yards across the creek and wait until I grabbed Dexter the hippo’s attention. As Dexter moved toward me, it was not easy to think about single-point focus on the camera, composition, or exposure from the sun. It was a highly intense five seconds, but I got the shot.’