Grabbing a Snack

[Steve Canuel]

One of the rare times I've come across bears while hiking when I actually had my camera, I got this one last August during an early evening hike. He was gathering acorns from the scrub oak along a firebreak in the woods. IQ not up to the standards of most here but I've only got a couple of bear pictures so it works for me. 7D, 1-400L, f6.3, 1/320s, ISO 1600, HH, cropped all around for comp, removed bright yellow ear tags.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Steve - This is great, I love the look he is giving you. IQ doesn't bother me here. What does bother me is the crop at the bottom, it feels awkwardly truncated and I would prefer either more room below for the balance of the legs or to crop much higher at the waist to emphasize the look.

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Steve, I love the look, almost the sense of 'caught in the act' so to speak. With the FG hiding the feet I think it's OK, but to have them in I feel would have taken it up a gear. For balance perhaps a little off the top, say just below your © text, however I do like the off set position, works well? Not sure if you have used any Highlight/Shadow on the bear as the fur looks patchy near the lower stomach and back of the legs, any ideas? Overall I do like the look & feel and he almost conveys a cuteness too.

TFS
Steve

[Nancy Bell]

You caught an amazing expression on the bear! Very nice greens in the leaves that surround and provide a great bkgd for the darkness of the bear. The OOF foreground is not the best but I don't have any really good suggestions. Mostly I am drawn to the bear and that super face!

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Steve, love the face of the bear. You encounter that kind of animals on a short evening walk? Well, not me, bugger :w3

All is said already above. Great image even with the FG :bg3:

Ciao
Anette

[Steve Canuel]

Thank you all for the comments. The lay of the land here was a bit undulating and when I first heard/saw this bear he was in the bushes behind a tree. I went up the trail a bit, sat on a rock and waited to see if he would come out into the open. Being tagged, he obviously had been around people before so I wanted to both keep a safe distance and just watch him for awhile to see if he would continue to forage. He threw me an occasional glance while he continued to gather acorns and I didn't really want to run him off so I just accepted the obstructive BG and enjoyed the moment from afar.
Steve,
I did use some S/H, masking it away to taste. IQ of the RAW was pretty bad but I liked this one as a documentation shot and wanted to post something besides my normal ungulates.

[Steve Kaluski]

IQ of the RAW was pretty bad but I liked this one as a documentation shot

I fully appreciate and understand that Steve, sometimes the Tech's/PP overwhelm the image and we loose the essence of the why the shot was taken.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Missed this - MAN I love the pose here, looks like a naugthy child.
You did good for ISO-1600 on the 7D here, Steve.
Do they occur normally close to where you live (in the wild)?

[Steve Canuel]

Thanks Morkel. It was fun to watch as he'd forage, cast me a look, forage again, etc. Even took a little video of him pulling over and sitting on a sapling. They're somewhat common in the mountains above the city and this was the 11th time I've come across one while out hiking (but only the third time I had a camera or was able to get a picture due to available light.)