Mother

[Mike Tracy]

On the shores of Hallo Bay, AK. A female nursing her spring born cubs.

I have a tiff of this that I have tweaked to no end but I store my previous years photos off site so I have to go with this small jpeg that was lying around. All suggestions are welcomed for improvement.

Dysfunctional MKIII, EF 500 F4 @ 1.4x, 1/500, F7.1, ISO 400, EC+.3, on my fat belly hand held

[Gary Dietz]

Jim
My only nit would be to remove some of the OOF gravel from the bottom. Did you stay at Hallo Bay or was this a day trip?

[Robert Amoruso]

Mike,

The action is definitely good and the positioning of the bears, mom's paws. I would crop more of the top and bottom so as not to compete with the center of attraction. Nice work.

[DanWalters]

Great shot. I love the low angle and the interaction. Maybe just a little more room around the subject.

[Howard Burkert]

Mike, I really like this image, and I do agree with Robert's crop. I would mat just to include the small strip of stones, just below mom. Very special image.
Best,
Howard

[Gayle Clement]

Beautiful image. Robert's crop would make a nice difference.

[Milo Burcham]

Composition works for me as is, Precious moment you caught. Only comment I might make is that it looks a tad soft and generally, if it can't be made to look sharp at web resolution, its an indication that the original is way soft. Still, a keeper in my book... I've got to get out there some summer!!!

[Mike Tracy]

Jim
My only nit would be to remove some of the OOF gravel from the bottom. Did you stay at Hallo Bay or was this a day trip?

Thanks for the kind words , suggestions and observations.

We went to the bay and LK. Clark N.P. on several different occasions over the span of a couple weeks. Probably will find a place to stay put this year. Whats awesome is one of my life long friends is moving to Kenai within a couple of weeks :). I hope I don't wear out my welcome.

That out of focus gravel bothered / bothers me too. This is one of the only photos I have spent any $ on framing nicely since my wife liked it. The guy who did the framing did a masterful job of mating and took the negative aspects out of the finished product. In regards to being soft it does not seem to be a issue in person in print.

[Howard Burkert]

Mike, glad that you had this print matted and framed. Once the mat, glass and frame go onto an image, it is a very rewarding finish.
Best,
Howard

[Vincent Grafhorst]

Great photo Mike, the poses are really unique. I'm with Dan that it could use a bit more room, mainlty left and right.

[Georgina Salup]

Awesome shot! The pose is excellent.