Kamtchatka Brown Bear with fish

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi folks ...just a move over to far east .
Image captured in august this year at Kambalnaya River on Kamtchatka .
Just males were hanging out at the river , no females at all .
We were sitting right at the river bank , and followed the action with great fun and excitement .

Canon EOS 1Dx II
EF 200-400 IS L at 286 mm
HH
Full frame

F 6,3 ; Iso 3200 ; 1/3200 sec ; man exp and Auto Iso

Processed with DPP and PSCC 2019

Thanks for looking and commenting to my previous posting .

Cheers Andreas

[Jonathan Ashton]

Andreas there isn't a whole lot wrong with this!
The items of particular note for me are the way you sharpened the fur and the water - just right. the timing was excellent I like the water streaking off the fish's tail. Colours looks spot on there is detail in the darkest fur/skin. Tight crop and low angle accentuates impact.
Just about the only thing missing is the fish's eye - it should have been open:bg3::cheers:

[greg cowle]

Great action and detail. A question about the behavior here (not the capture which is spot on), are the bears plucking the fish from the shallows with their mouths or paws? His head seems almost dry, fish very wet. Unless he had already shaken his head? Great vantage point.

[John Mack]

You were close to this big fella. Must have been quite the experience. The fish and the trailing water are nice. Nice view of the bear's eyes as well. Maybe just a little tight at the top. Looks like it was a little foggy.

[Jay Shah]

Hi Andreas, very nice capture. Jonathan has said it all for me. If this was my image, I will be very happy. I would also experiment with removing rock on the RHS and going vertical. That may be image two, may not be better but just different and perhaps equally engaging.

[Marc Mol]

Cracking good shot here Andreas, very nice indeed, love the pensive look on this young male, and in particular the trailing water droplets on the fish's tail, nicely depicted. :cheers:

Agree it's a tad tight on top, but nonetheless would be very happy to have this in my files.

Kamtchaka has long been on my list and really need to get there.

TFS

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks so much folks ...for your kind comments !!!
Much appreciated , as always , good to have other eyes looking at my work .

Jay .. your point about the rock is understandable , but not really changeable as i do not like pixel bashing !!!!

Jon ....yes that eye visible would have been a real burner !!!!

Marc and John - for me it is just ok at the edge , but would have preferred a bit more space .

Greg - at times the bears were able to catch the fish without becoming wet , as the river was very shallow at that spot .

Cheers Andreas

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Andreas - Great action and capture. Love the dripping water and the pov. It all works here but, yes, I would prefer a little more room too. Not a deal breaker though. Congrats on this one.

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

This is always the shot everyone wants Andreas. Good perspective, but as stated, it's too tight, I would guess the bear came forward and this comes back to 'predicting' especially with that great bit of lens, you were lucky at 6.3. Love the trailing water and droplets from the salmon. I think a small 'Levels' adjustment would help for the darks.

TFS
Steve

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Rachel & Steve ....much appreciated .

Steve - I personally wish for more room in the first place .... but the more i look at it , i rather think it is looking good . Good call Steve on the prediction what the animals will do next .... specially when there are up to 11 bears around you at something like 25 - 30 meters stretch off river . Easy task ....i just failed and can easily live with it as it is not my daily job ....:w3.Regarding the levels adjustment ... not needed from my POV , as it was foggy and quite flat atmosphere , trying to keep it as close as possible . The darks are looking good for me.
But always good to hear other views .

Cheers Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Good call Steve on the prediction what the animals will do next .... specially when there are up to 11 bears around you at something like 25 - 30 meters stretch off river . Easy task ....i just failed and can easily live with it as it is not my daily job ....

It's easy to get in awe of a situation like this with the amount of bears you had Andreas and I fully appreciate what you are saying, but you always have time and just assess the situation, then a pick one or two that stand out and focus on what they are doing. 20-35m is close, but with a zoom like the 200-400 you have flexibility and so, yes you may take a few frames at that distance, but aim that they will come closer and so you techs have to be thinking ahead. I never had that amount of bears in Katmai, only perhaps 4 or 5, so an easier call, but 'predicting/tracking' applies to all that we shoot, whether it's a Kingfisher, Elephant, Fish eagle, Leopard, Deer etc ... being ready is a key factor. I'm only highlighting this, nothing more. :S3:



Regarding the levels adjustment ... not needed from my POV , as it was foggy and quite flat atmosphere , trying to keep it as close as possible .

OK so more info on the situation and if flat light then then it looks more reflective, but I get lost now as some folk often change from reflective to artistic rendition, so thanks for clarifying and adding more about the scene.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Fully agree on your idea to be ready and being able to predict what the subject might do next !!!! To be honest many times i am too excited ....:bg3:... this was the second time i had with bears , and the first to see that many and staying that close for a long time . Was excited every minute ...right till the end of the trip , might be better next time :w3 and i can work more relaxed and targeted . As there were so many at times ....it was very difficult to be concentrated , as i had the feeling i could miss something in the other corner . Might be the wrong approach .....

Sorry that you get lost .... usually i try to stay close of reflection what i saw :w3 as i did in the past . So if my frame looks relatively flat .... it was flat at time of shooting . If the scene was harsh .... i try to keep it harsh . At least in color images ....

[Morkel Erasmus]

Love the look on his face, the moment and the dripping water here Andreas.
I agree on it being a tad tight.
Have heard good things about this area!

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Morkel