Polar Bear
We have had a long hard winter in Toronto, so in celebration of spring (even though it is snowing like crazy outside) I decided to post a wintery images in hopes that my next ones will have a warmer feeling to them :) This was taken in the Canadian Arctic on a sunny bright day, which we know does not work well with bright white wildlife. 500mm, ISO 400, F/5.6,1 /320 +1.1/3
We have had a long hard winter in Munich, hard for me as we had no snow nor freezing temperatures. so I love this. I really must get up to Canada in the winter. I really have to! Only nit for me is it's a bit tight at the bottom.
Hi Missy, one of my top favourite animals to photograph, love them, but perhaps also the most dangerous too.
Like Neil, my first thought was, it's too close to the foot, if you have more image below great, if not, then the whole crop needs to have move down more when framing in camera. I like the relaxed, chilled out posture and the twig in the mouth, adds a little humour in my book. Your call, but I would try flipping it, so the image is looking into the frame rather than out. I think you could also drop the exposure by a third of a stop and extract more depth & detail from the file, especially as this is shot with the 1DX. Also applying more sharping to the OP, you can begin to see the detail coming through which is missing. From what I have seen, these bears tend to be a little more 'relaxed' than the ones in Svalbard, but none the less, still incredibly dangerous.
Look forward to more I hope.
TFS
Steve
PS Please note you can post max 1200px wide, 900px high
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Hi Missy - Nice low pov and the twig in the mouth adds a great element. Exp of polar bears can be tough and it looks like you have lost some detail, particularly in the back. Steve's rp has recovered some but you might be able to do more with the raw file. I agree on a it being a bit tight below. Steve's rp has taken the image up a notch but personally I don't believe in flipping images. We have had lots of discussions about this over the last few years on BPN. Ultimately, as with everything, it is up to you.
TFS,
Rachel
Steve, I really appreciate you taking the time to write such detailed comments. All that make a lot of sense. There is plenty of canvas at the bottom, but I always seem to crop too tightly and I will definitely loosen it up. I am sitting on the fence with the exposure issues. It is -30 and sunny most days there, which makes it a challenge to photograph these beautiful creatures. I knew as soon as I pushed the shutter, that I would have exposure issues that I may not be able to fix 100%. I like the image enough to try and work on it some more, so thank you again for helping me. I am not only challenged in the cropping area... I am also challenged when it comes to exporting the right file sizes with the correct amt of mb's and pixels!!Originally Posted by Steve Kaluski
Missy, you are more than welcome, however if you have taken the time to post it in a Critique forum then we all have a need to reply back with advice, help, thoughts, or just to say you like it.
No worries about cropping, as you will see, this is often very subjective, or it's simply a no brainer, but good to know there is image content and so you can review and address issues if required. As you can appreciate, most comments are based on assumptions without seeing the RAW, or, as I do, apply the comments to the image, so I know they work, however you may disagree and that is all part of the 'development'. Having just spent three weeks on the west coast, I can appreciate the weather you have.
Photographing as snow as your BKG, I agree it's perhaps the most challenging, and often the readings can fool the camera, so you need to read the Histogram and with time also know how far to push things, but being well exposed is key. Personally I might expose for the subject and worry about the BKG later. It's easier to darken rather than to lighten, as you will begin to introduce more noise within the darker areas, like shadows. Ensure you don't clip to the left or right and try to get an even spread of data, exposing to the right (ETTR), but not blowing the whites with give you the optimum amount of data to process with.
There are some very good video clips (and free) that Adobe have in using their software like LR & PS, so worth a browse, it avoids reading personal tuitions that can at times have some bad practices within them, however there also some good ones too, you just need to know who to trust.
All the best.
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Like the scene and the twig in the mouth adds a little playfulness to the photo. Both flips work for me, don't really have a preference. Yes, to a little more room below. Steve's drop in exposure seems to have brought out just a touch more color in the BG and branches that I think looks good. A nice picture as posted.
All good advice above on the finer points of correct exp, etc, with Steve's RP enhancing nicely, like Rachel I'm not too keen on flipping images, to each their own I guess.
Always envious of polar bear images! This is such a nice white and clean bear. The branch in his mouth and the bit of snow on his head are really nice details. Steve's repost adds depth to the image. What about easing the shadows about the eye just enough to make it a bit lighter?
Missy, a nice image and a lot of what I would say has been covered already. I don't mind the "orientation" either way, and I like the subtle colours coming through. Steve's brough in some nice tonal depth too, and you've said you have more space at the bottom. Remember that the human mind often wants the space there even if the feet are obscured by foliage - the so-called "virtual feet" need space to be imagined in.
Hi Missy, lots is said already. I do like the image flipped as Steve did it. Very nice animal, love it.
Have a great eve
Ciao
Anette
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