Polar bear resting

[Steve Kaluski]

Think some of you will recognise this Polar Bear, he was the very first bear we encountered out of 26 on the trip, but never posted. Shot from a moving zodiac, seems I can still HH at low SS!!!!

Thanks to those who posted or viewed on the last posting.


Steve

Subject: Polar bear (Ursus maritimus)
Location: Svalbard
Camera: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II
Lens: EF500mm f/4L IS II USM HH
Exposure: 1/800s at f/8 ISO1000 EV -0.33
Original format: Landscape, very slight crop, almost FF
Processed via: LRC 10.5 & PS10.05.02

[Jonathan Ashton]

Beautiful image gorgeous colours and details. The highlights (in the sea I am guessing) not keen on but the rest perfectomondo!

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks Jon, it’s snow on the mountains, if you keep it all ‘grey’ then I feel it would just look too sterile. :S3:

[Gabriela Plesea]

Good morning Steve,

Wish you posted this earlier because it is really beautiful, outstanding colours and tones and detail is awesome. IQ is superb.
Love the environment and that little bit of vegetation adds so much to the scene. Bear well separated from the BG. Well composed, great POV and nice relaxed pose from the subject.
Love the speckles of snow :w3

Warmest regards,

[haseeb badar]

This is so beautiful.

What an image Steve.

love your technique and processing skills , just makes the image for me.

Another cracking post.

TFS !

[Nikhil Patwardhan]

The eye-contact with the bear and the expression makes this a cracking image, it makes you wonder what the bear is thinking. However I'd crop this tighter from the right, up to the beginning of the cube-like rock or even more and also from the bottom and top.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Nikhil, thank for the comments and suggestions.

I can see by going tighter you may 'emphasise' more the subject, but it all comes down to personal preferences. Some images work well tight in, because it's more 'detail' based, however I feel there is a tendency to crop images so tight the subject doesn't have room to breathe, in addition, subjects get too close to the foot, it almost has the appearance of slipping 'out of frame'. Also there is a factor which many, including myself are guilty of and this is when we should add more habitat into the scene to give greater context.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Steve ... such a tranquil and peaceful looking image of this beast !!!!

Overall it does look good to me .... lovely fine details rendered , very impressive with the given shooting situation . I would have killed the details under these conditions , LOL.

The rendered tones are sooooo cool .

TFS Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

I would have killed the details under these conditions , LOL.

I very much doubt that Andreas, however you know your way around raw converters & PS very well, but so many folk now rely on AI this, and AI that, that processing an image isn't really processing, just an automated function. In addition, with software that replaces skies with far more depth, mood and atmosphere who needs to understand anything, just place it in PS and churn out... and so do we really know what we are looking at these days???? :bg3:

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hey Steve ... you got me wrong .
I meant I would have killed the fine details while shooting , due to my limited handholding skills when it comes to slow SS . Even more when being positioned in a zodiac on choppy water .

Steve i am dinosaur when it comes to processing ... almost like you .... we will die out sooner or later :bg3:. I think there is no way around this AI thing ... and actually it is not that bad , but the issue for me is that I have no idea what is going on behind the scene . And I do not like it when I have no idea .....
The majority of folks will follow that route .... as it is all over the place on Mr Google and more or less famous photographers are supporting it . And what are photographer colleagues doing .... following the more or less famous photographers , without really thinking . Well this I just my personal view to this , others might disagree .... fair enough .

Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Andreas, you can do it, but agree that at times it's nice to have a support, and now I have a cracking one for the Landcrusier, just an awesome beast that is solid and well made. Packs a punch on travelling, albeit small, but built in a true German way, bulletproof and solid!!!

I probably have immersed myself too much in PSCC, as a lot of stuff you can't do anywhere else, ie no software or script currently out there that can match or deliver.

Dinosaur - perhaps, but at least I'm in control in the output. :bg3: