It could have been close to perfection , if not ......

a lot of things went wrong when creating and shooting this image , LOL .
Hi folks , i went through older folders and stopped at Alaska . This was in 2008 , my one and only trip to that place .
I tried to save money and was very late with booking , i got a great discount but with hindsight i think i saved the money in the wrong place .
As season was over when i got there ,was the only photographic guest in the lodge :Whoa!:, conditions have been not that much great . Not that much bears , weather was so so .In total i had 3 bears in 7 days .... bears do not seem to be my friends as i also had only 4 bears during my Svalbard trip a year before :eek3:.
At least these brownies came close ..... too close for my taste , in some cases .
As i was the only guest , i just got a quick tutorial how to behave when i have contact with one of them , and then i was left alone in the area around the lodge . Location was Silver Salmon Creek Lodge in Lake Clark NP .
So then i was exploring the area on my own for 6 days , hit by heavy rain and stormy winds , sleeping in a cold hut , was hardly able to get the kit dry over night . I could use a canoe which was nice to do , one day i did not look at the tide or better started my way back to the lodge to late i got trapped on a small island ....... 20 x 30 meter in size .
Was a bit afraid of having to climb a tree ...... but water did not come higher , so i survived with getting very cold and hungry before i could make my way back to the lodge , the guys at the lodge laughed at me ....... the bush rookie did survive , LOL !
Back to the image ..... i saw this guy faaaaar out on the mudflats ( 500 m maybe ) and i was following him parallel to his way , all of a sudden he started to turn and came my way ... slowly . And i was taking images , not good ones though . All of a sudden he started to run ........ into my direction , man i cannot tell you how i felt !!!
Not very relaxed ...... for whatever reason he started to run , finally he ignored and raced past me onto the beach and onto the meadows ...... and gone !!

I forgot everything while shooting , regarding the techs , so i was ending up with an image that is way away from ideal . But i still think it works somehow here at low res .
A bit sharp on the head and a bit blurry in the moving parts of the bear .

As exposure was not ideal ( what was here ideal , LOL ) i went for a somehow HK effect with a bit of contrast .


CANON EOS 1D MK IIn
EF 500 IS L
Tripod

F 5,6 ; ISO 800 ; 1/250 sec , this is some stunning setting for tack sharp images :bg3:

Processed with DPP and PS CC ; cropped for comp to 75 % of FF

Thanks for looking and reading my long story , and leaving comment to my previous posting .

Cheers Andreas

BTW i still loved to stay there, was quite an experience , hope to return one day .

Hi Andreas
I,m not into techs and all that stuff but I love this image. It conveys to me real power and the fact of "being there" comes through so strongly Dont come on here too often, but I really like this one- even if I can't explain why !!!
Cheers
JohnR

I like it a lot too. Whatever the challenges you got this image made it worth it. The face looks great and sharp as can be. The high-key treatment works really well. Although subtle the faint grey line skimming the bear's back could be lightened a bit to reduced its visibility, but all else looks good to me.

Hi Andreas - Glad he ran right by you. I too like the high key look to the image and despite the techs the face is sharp at this size. Agree with Daniel about the gradient in the bg. Though I am sure you would do many things differently today, this still works pretty well. I bet the experience made you a better photographer.

TFS,
Rachel

Hi Andreas, Alaska is a fun place, especially with these guys, so this posting brought back some very fond memories.

It's a great image conveying the size and power of these guys, nothing more to say, but imagine what you would achieve now with the 1DX & the 200-400 :bg3:.

TFS
Steve

Hey Andreas, Really loved the story. :bg3: :bg3: Could imagine you wouldn't feel too comfortable with this guy running towards you!

Also enjoying the image itself - power and movement of the bear, and the PP looks great.

Gerald

I'm surprised Andreas you hadn't submitted this image earlier, love the running at you action depicted, I think your subtle HK treatment perfectly suits here.

As you say for 1/250s it's sharp where it needs to be.

TFS

Hi Andreas

Love the narrative AND the image!
The angle from the canoe is perfect!
High Key effect works, face and eyes sharp.
The softer back legs add to running speed.
Like the comp, detail on face good--this image and the story works for me!
Nice one Buthi!

Hi all , thanks so much for your kind comments folks , very much appreciated .
I am surprised i must say , still think this does not fit to my todays expectations of a good image , not saying the image content is not good , just the technical side is not where i want the image to be .

Anyhow i still like this one for the moment i have taken it and witness the bear coming quickly towards me .

Cheers Andreas

Hello Andreas!

I so enjoyed this, from viewing your "running, splashing bear" to reading the story behind the image:)

Despite the not-quite-ideal settings you've done a great job in capturing the moment. I like your thoughtful processing and the high key look works for me too.

What an amazing and memorable experience, thank you for sharing with us. So glad this big brown bear did not rock your boat, Boetie:bg3:

Warmest regards,

I'm with Gabriella here Andeas I loved your story and frankly think the picture is amazing,I adore the movement the water splashes and the smile that says I might eat photographer tonight only joking:bg3:. I am not bothered by the grey line I presume of the rear riverbank,I think it gives the setting depth. Andreas I have utterly NO experience of big game such as this,I think your composure is amazing. I realize this is a while back and you might not think so much of it now,but to me learning all this it is a joy to see such an image and utterly inspiring.

take care

Stu

Hi Andreas -- You must be kidding when you say it is not that good . This ia superb image and very nicely executed with the given techs .
I enjoyed this image a lot .
TFS !