Foraging Shadows

[Jamie Douglas]

I have to start by thanking Rachel for posting 16x9s recently. The crop has opened up a new workflow and approach to my editing.

Techs | Canon 1D Mark IV | 500mm F4 II | F8 | 1/640 | ISO1600 | Exp Comp -2/3 | AV (rocks were blowing out the exposure readings) |handheld | Boston Whaler

I am interested to get everyone's thoughts on this image.

Processing:

RAW converted in LR 4 into two RAW files with varying exposure
Reduced the clarity on one file to soften the water and reduce the contrast highlights
Imported into PS CS6 and blended
Mid, dark, and light tone adjustments applied using Luminosity masks
Re-sized for web with output USM sharpening and NR

Cheers

Jamie

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Jamie, I know how hard it can be in this location, so well done getting what you did. Always nice to see the Black bears out at low tide, foraging, it illustrates how powerful they are when you see them move huge boulders & rocks for a tasty snack.

Regarding the image I'm not a lover of the central placement and would, if IQ allows, to crop with less to the right and above. Just a personal though, although as presented it does allow for more 'habitat'. Great call on the inclusion of the Crows/Rooks adds to the content of the image and that you retained the reflection and being as low as you were helps, but I would beef up the FG, both in depth & richness, gives a better platform I think. Techs look good and nice to see the 500 getting an airing. I would check your Levels Histogram, you know what to look for and how to do that, as the white slider need lifting, looks a little murky for 9.30am . Overall I like the image, just needs a little bit of tweaking Jamie. BTW, why did you apply NR as the last action?

I have to start by thanking Rachel for posting 16x9s recently.

I wonder where Rachel got that idea from?

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Jamie,
good to go for the pano format, but not working for me as presented, because the bear looks a bit lost in the center of the image.
Good crop version by Steve losing from the top and RHS . not sure why the crows are adding something, not for me.
The whole image looks kind of flat in tones and color with no depth, not knowing how to get tonal variation into the bear, because it is very dark in color.
Wonder why the crows and the rocks in front of the bear are looking sharper than the bear itself.
Maybe Steve is right there is more potential in the image to squeeze out in PP, maybe just not the ideal approach by you.

I forgot the reflection of the bear is nice.

TFS Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

not sure why the crows are adding something, not for me.

I guess Andreas I'm reading/interpreting more into the image, as I know what is happening/location and therefore having the Crows (?) in there helps IMHO, as they are scavenging from what the Bear either leaves or misses. Saying that, if the image was just the bear then I think it might be a different story.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Ok Steve,
your vision, picking up your thoughts i would like to see the crows more closer to the bear to get the story , that you have in your mind, in a perfect world .................

Me , honestly said , had this story not in my mind just concentrated on the bear and the habitat, and took the crows as part of it. If they are there , ok , if not ok ,too.
All in all a very unimportant part of the image , for me.
Different views and different results..

Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Different views and different results.

Andreas, this is great, as it has provoked a dialog & thought process sometimes missed in a thread, which I hope Jamie doesn't mind. Be interesting to see other thoughts, as this for me is a more of an engaging thread and something we perhaps need to expand on elsewhere within future threads?

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Jamie - Thanks for the shout out but I call the 16x9 crop "Steve's favorite crop." Great look to camera and I like the rocky habitat and reflection. I didn't notice the crows until I read the other comments so for me they blend in a bit. My first reaction was that the bear seemed a little dark and that there was more detail that could be extracted. Of course, Mr. Detail's rp has taken care of that. I also thought the grass on the top has to go and just a rock bg would work better. Steve's rp takes care of that as well and moving the bear a bit off-center. I wonder if it needs a slight amount of ccw rotation or if it is an optical illusion caused by the lines in the water. I think it's worth spending a bit more time tweaking this one. Nicely captured from a boat.

TFS,
Rachel

[Douglas Bolt]

Another 6x9 crop option. PP: auto curves with opacity reduced to 50%.

[Jamie Douglas]

Cheers guys and gal for the feedback. I deliberately wanted to go wide for at least a few images during this trip and thought this shore line location presented the best opportunity to do so with the crows hanging out by the bear. I wanted a result that would be more than just another bear staring at a camera image. What I had in mind though was slightly different to what I ended up with on my memory card. I ideally wanted to have the bear foraging (not looking at the camera) with the crows closer but they couldn’t read my mind from the boat .

Rachel, I'll play around with the rotation as I think I see what you’re seeing.

Steve thanks for the repost and after I posted this last night I was playing around with mid tones to get more oomph out of it so thank you for giving me a sense of direction. Your water looks better than my water :). I'll email you the RAW file later tonight. Cheers. I have camera club so it'll likely arrive in your inbox when you are waking up. Turns out I am getting my first CAPA medal tonight. Canadians Association for Photographic Art. The CA version of NANPA but smaller coz it's Canadian.

As for the crop. I do like the wider presentation in my original crop but understand the photographer can visualize what isn’t in the image, however for someone who wasn’t there, they might see the grass etc. as just being distracting and not adding anything.

Cheers

Jamie

[Steve Canuel]

A couple of different crop options here, all work, including the OP with the centered comp (at least for me). A nice environmental capture, I like the inclusion of the crows as I often watch how they interact with various wildlife around here as well. A tough balance between detail and the appearance of noise on the barnacle/seaweed encrusted rocks.