Grizzly Bear

[Nancy Bell]

This is my first experience with the magnificant Grizzly Bears of Alaska and it was very exciting! We saw 26 bears that day. Photographed on the Kenai Penisula in Katmai National Park. For me it was hard to capture their eyes. Mostly they seem to look down and the eyes are small and deep set into the head and thus dark. Many times I sat on the ground trying to get a good view of the eye.

Canon 40D, Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS + 1.4 @ 110
1/750, f4.5, ISO 640

C & C very welcome.

[Andrew Merwin]

Nancy, I like this image. I like the texture & color of the BG & FG. I think you did caught the eyes very well. There is a catch light & it looks like he/she is checking you out. I like the raised RRL & was intrigued by the RFL being so far under the bear's body thus suggesting that he/she is over balanced. It looks like the cloudy conditions mitigated what appears to be back lighting. I also like how the shoulder is defined by the light. A very good image IMHO.

[Paul Taylor]

You were quite close - do you shoot them from vehicles, hides or in the open? If you sat on the ground, I guess the open? I get a better appreciation of how difficult it is to shoot the bears from what you say - and it makes sense, although my only experience with them is from documentaries. This one seems to be turning to get a good sniff at you, and the eyes really help to tell that story (real or not, I don't know). An interesting and slightly awkward pose. I like it. I don't always trust my monitor with the highlights, but if they were toned down a little would they still give that nice definition Andrew mentions?

[Robert Amoruso]

Nancy,

Good job capturing the details in the fur and controlling the highlight to shadow dynamic range. The bears position and look are awkward to me. during my photographing of these bears I have found they do not look at you for long. If they are you have drawn their attention for the wrong reasons. ;)

My strategy is to use one AF point and have it situated so that I can follow an eye with it as the bear picks up the head and moves it to survey its surroundings. They are always looking around and will glance at you for a brief moment. It is that moment you are trying to capture. I will start shooting rapidity as the pan the head. Later during editing, I trash to ones the bear is not in a good head angle/eye contact. If all goes well, you get at least one with that moment captured.

[Grace Scalzo]

Nicely done, Nancy. You did a good job with the eye, and I appreciate the fine details that you have captured here. Does it possibly need a VERY slight cw rotation??

[Marc Mol]

Nice even lighting here Nancy, the pose looks a little awkward and wondered if you have this Grizzly with the front paw raised instead?
Happy to have this in my files nontheless.
TFS