Brown bear clamming (close up)

[Andreas Liedmann]

http://www.bilderload.com/bild/202977/dpp07dc0505141627kopieWMPX4.jpg

Photographed this just adult bear in Lake Clark NP (Alaska) in sep 2009 .This guy was looking for clams,because there was ,due to heavy rains,no salmon available.

Canon EOS 1D Mark II N
EF 500 is L
Gitzo Tripod+Video head

f 6,7 / 1/350 sec / ISO 400
FF
Processed in Canon DPP+PS CS5 NR,levels , curves through lum mask,LCE, sharpening ,removed some distracting elements in mud.

Thanks for looking , C&C welcome

Cheers Andreas

[Ken Watkins]

Andreas,

An interesting composition here and certainly very different from the majority of Bear images I have seen. Is this a large crop?

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Ken
sorry i forgot it is FF

Andreas

[Tom Graham]

Interesting mostly because your title explains what the bear is doing.
Without your explanation I would be totally lost. With the photo merge of its right paw and left leg it is not clear what it is going on (at least to me). And not clear to me that it is a clam, but what do I know about clams :S3: . Also that paw is not sharp. Sorry to be so negative but that is the way I see it knowing nothing about bear clamming. Hopefully others here will see it more clearly than I do.
Tom

[Ken Watkins]

Andreas,

Thanks for the info, now that I have it I can add well composed to my critique:cheers:

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Andreas, unless you know bears and what they do, especially along the shoreline at low tide, then I would have to agree with Tom, however you do state in the OP thread the bear is looking for Clams so I think Tom the action of the bear is clearly stated. :w3


Also that paw is not sharp.
Again Tom, if you look at the Exif data the SS is 1/350sec and at that speed you will not get the paw sharp, all the other features are, especially the eye which is the focus point and therefore having movement in the paw action conveys exactly what is happening in the scene. If Andreas increased the ISO to raise the SS then he might have frozen the action, but I feel this works well as presented.

Re the image, personally I would have like more room at the foot so you can see the tide/water running into the cavity the bear is excavating looking for the clams, it's just a little too tight. I also like the intense and colour looks good.

Keep them coming Andreas and look forward to your input on other posted images too.

TFS
Steve :wave:

[Morkel Erasmus]

I like this very much Andreas! Especially since it's FF :bg3:
Clarity and detail are great...and I love the 'not sharp' paw - which I presume came out exactly how you intended it...having that paw perfectly frozen would not have conveyed the franticness of the bear's foraging as well as this does. I also have no problem 'separating/distinguishing' between the legs/paws. Even without the title it would've been cool, we would just have thought he was digging for the fun of it :w3

[Sid Garige]

Andreas,

Brilliant action and intimate capture. Like the way how you captured the mud flash. Brilliant job.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks guys
for your comments , appreciate that.

Cheers Andreas

[Gerald Kelberg]

Hi Andreas,

It has all been said already, but I do like this enormously. There is a terrific combination of intimacy with the bear and action. Nice job on the PP as well.

Gerald

[Harshad Barve]

For me this is super shot
TFS

[Grady Weed]

Steve in pane #6 gives a good crtique and explanation of the blurred action, which results in a nice image to show motion and give the viewer insight and a feeling of "live view". Thanks for the OP and the fine critique Steve. I just love brown bears and coastal bears.