Polar Stroll

[Rachel Hollander]

Another polar bear image taken in the waters north of Svalbard, Norway in August 2013. This one was taken at about 6 am. I wish the head wasn't intersecting the edge of the ice but I didn't notice it in the field.

Canon 5D3
300 II plus 2x III
1/1600
f5.6
ISO 800
Monopod from moving boat, cropped to straighten, levels, curves and sharpened in CCPS.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel, there is a truck load of detail you can extract from the image, both in terms of definition & clarity in the subject & environment, if you have time I would revisit.

Steve :S3:

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Rachel i like the stroll of the polar bear with plenty of room to walk into which i like . I like the overall soft tones and colors and for me no need of achieving more clarity and definition , i would go for even less for a "true" HK image . I only miss some sharpness within the subject and might loose some from the top for a more pano look.
How do you want to avoid the intersection ?

TFS Andreas

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Steve and Andreas. Steve, I should have said in the intro that I purposely did not extract detail from the bg as part of my high key experiment for this one. I wanted to still have it clear that the bg was ice but have it a bit more featureless like a traditional high key bg of a portrait.

Andreas, had I noticed in the field, I might have been able to change my angle of shooting slightly to avoid the intersection but with the confines of the boat it might not have been possible anyway. Yes, this one could go pano and I'll look at the sharpening.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Andreas Liedmann]

Rachel this is what i meant , not that easy with the limitations of the boat :bg3:

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel, I guess this is why we see things differently, for me the images is better as an image containing detail & definition rather than trying to go HK route, but again, personal tastes. :S3:

[Rachel Hollander]

Steve- Perhaps, but our theme this month is HK and I was posting a theme image :w3

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Rachel, love the strolling pose with the raised paw and slightly protruding tongue. I like the multiple tones of whites throughout the image, and Im fine with the head intersecting the edge of the ice.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

A very nice image of the strolling PB, love the setting and the walking pose. TFS.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Stu and Sanjeev, much appreciated.:wave:

[Dumay de Boulle]

Again I like it, great detail and exp...I love the pose and tongue of the Bear. One day I will get to see them and hopefully get nearly as good as yours.

[Sadananda Koppalkar]

A superb capture ...I love the details of fur, raised paw, perfect walking pose with out being bothered ... TFS

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Dumay and Sadananda. Dumay, I'm sure yours will be as good or better. :wave:

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Rachel,

I am envious of your polar bear sightings and images!

I like the placement of the subject in the frame and the rushed pace of the subject - I wonder what was this bear up to?

Well exposed, I have never photographed subjects against snow/ice and I am fascinated with the various shades of white - this is beautiful and kind of surreal to me, especially with your Hi Key touch.

What I like most is that the image retains a degree of colour; in terms of detail not sure whether I would have liked more, perhaps on the bear only but I am still trying to make up my mind about this:)

Another lovely Polar Bear image - thank you Rachel for sharing it with us, enjoyed viewing:)

Warmest regards,

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Rachel,

a great PB. I like it the way you did this one. I thought all your PB's were cream in color, looks like this one not or you had some fun on the screen :bg3:
For me the details are enough as well. I think it works very well that the FG & BG does not show so much detail.
And yes the head... that line... lolol, that's how it is so what :w3

Have a nice eve

Ciao
Anette

[Morkel Erasmus]

For a theme image it works well, as do the others in this series.
Like Steve, I would like a tad more contrast and detail but I personally also prefer even my "HK" images like that (perhaps they are not HK at all then).
Still, a very nice image nicely treated for the theme!

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Gabriela, Anette and Morkel, much appreciated.

[Charleen Ratcliff]

Hi Rachel
I like everything about this shot, especially considering you were on a boat and presents it's own set of issues to overcome! There are so many different shades of white, captured very well and not exaggerated in PP.

Very nice indeed,
Kind regards, Charleen

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Charleen, much appreciated.