A White Shade of Pale

I spent 2 weeks on a ship adventure in April exploring the fiords and pack ice in the seas way north of Norway. Twice we saw polar bears and one time a mom and her 2-year old came right up to the ship and clearly hoped it was a huge vessel of polar bear goodies that ship-wrecked on the ice! It was so interesting to listen to them grunt and see the mom paw the ice in what I interpreted as frustration. We were thrilled with their brave approach and the images we were getting! This is the curious youngster. A layer of fractalius, topaz impression and a texture. I wanted this to appear as I think of them, white animals in a white world. As the bears walked away the youngster, in apparent high spirits, rolled in the snow on his back, waving his legs in the air! Then he skipped along over the streams of water on the pack ice and caught up with mom. Kids don't understand the serious business of putting a meal on the table!

Beautiful, Nancy! This is very pretty as presented but I think it could use some more brightness to make it a little more high key. That detail on the fur is really amazing to see.

PS. Would you share which cruise you take for this trip?

Thank you Adhika! I will try a brighter version. The trip was hosted by WildPhoto of Norway. You can probably google them. Cruise is a bit overstated. Only room for 12 participants, but quite comfortable and we were well fed. This was the first year Norway permitted tourists to go to the pack ice in winter. Summer trips are available as well.

I love how the fur of the bear blends into and becomes the bg. Well done. The white with touch of blue looks cold. The black nose and eyes stand out beautifully. What a wonderful adventure!!!
When I was a child, my family traveled by ship from Peru to New York and back again on a cargo boat that allowed about 12 passengers. I thought that was the perfect number.

This is so good. I agree with Anita about how the fur seems to become the background. There's just the right amount of brightness in its eyes, and that's probably very important. I played around with a higher-key option, but decided I like this version much better.

Thanks for your account of seeing the bears as well as giving us a look.

Nancy, what a wonderful experience that must have been. I love everything about the image and your story about his/her antics in the snow.:S3:

Gorgeous! Polar bears must be the most amazing creatures. How wonderful you got so close to them and were able to do them justice in photographs!

Nancy, I went back and looked at this image on my calibrated monitor; brightness looked good on that one. My apology for making a rushed judgment on an uncalibrated monitor.

Great. Just the right amount of highlight detail.

Thank you lots everyone! And Adhaki, I did create a lightened version, upon your suggestion, and I liked it so much that is what I posted on Facebook!