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Thread: Emerging from the 'Day' den

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Default Emerging from the 'Day' den

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    Sadly the shot does not portray, how in parts, how hard it was to achieve and not making excuses either .

    - Standing in a moving zodiac to gain elevation
    - The bear was high up on the snow covered hill, surrounded/flanked by rocks
    - The last afternoon sun just bounced off the snow, although it meant for a nice ISO for once

    Polar bears dig shallow pits or 'day dens' where they can sleep during the day and conserve energy, ready to hunt at night where the light in Summer is almost constant. Whether it was the sound of the engine, or time for a stretch, who knows, but this guy just decided to surface. We tried different routes and access, however this seemed to be the best, with nice diffused BKG in the hope he might just come down as curiosity would get the better, sadly not! A couple of circles, some stretches and a high 5 and it was time to rest up.

    BTW no open eye, think, what happens when you look into bright sunlight without sunglasses, we close them. Animals are just the same.

    Thanks to those who viewed or posted a comment on the previous thread.


    Steve

    Subject: Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) yawning after emerging from the day den
    Camera: Canon 1DX
    Lens: 200-400f/4 HH
    Exposure: 1/2500s at f/7.1 ISO400
    Original format: Landscape, slight crop for presentation
    Processed via: LRCC & PSCC

    I left the two spots on his rear, just too lazy to remove on this one, but deleted on the final file.

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    This is how I look like waking up on winter mornings. Very interesting pose, Steve, and I think the snow is as white as snow should be. It would be nice to see the entire bear, but hey, I get the difficulties in getting this shot. If I were to nit, I would remove some of the specular OOF highlights in the background.

    Out of curiosity, the Latin name, Ursus maritimus, sounds like "maritime bear". How does it get to become polar bear or the other way round? Just wondering..........

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Out of curiosity, the Latin name, Ursus maritimus, sounds like "maritime bear". How does it get to become polar bear or the other way round? Just wondering..........
    LOL Adhika, no idea, but certainly the most dangerous animal on this planet!

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Good evening Steve,

    You are as obsessed with detail as I am with composition

    Lovely Theme image, despite the closed eye there is so much expression coming from the bear. What I initially thought was a display of aggression could be just a yawn, but that nice pair of teeth showing is enough to send shivers down my spine:)

    Superb exposure, great IQ, a very pleasing frame in terms of colour. Subtle sharpening (I wish I could do the same), forgot to mention great techs and some nice SS there...Did not see the two spots until you mentioned them, LOL. I find the colour of the tongue (not pink) very interesting, makes me think of this creature as a cold blooded killer.

    Enjoyed viewing Steve, very much. Thank you so much for sharing

    Warmest regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Steve - You forgot the "Theme' prefix. He somehow looks gentle here. Lovely detail, colors and tones. You did extremely well shooting while standing in a moving zodiac. No easy feat, especially if others were also standing.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Just beautiful that's all! It oozes quality - just love the tones and the details.

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    Most of the time we need the animal or birds with eyes wide open to give the image life,not in this case ,technically I would not know were to start but the contents of this image is superb.Excellent image Steve.

    Keith.

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    Hi Steve -- I loved the colours and light and that snow looks so pleasing to the eyes . Have to say we'll done considering the shooting conditions you described but the colours and expression of the bear looks lovely .

    TFS !

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    Hi Steve. Well done considering the circumstances.Good detail, tones and comp too. Great pic!

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Steve having the shooting conditions in mind , you did very well regarding sharpness and clarity .
    Like the colors and the tones from 1/4 to the blacks , the HL are a bit thin and can be pushed to the edge of the histogram , does give even more clarity without looking too contrasty .
    A well working comp and the detail is extra class !!!!!!
    A nice solid frame , well executed Steve .

    TFS Andreas

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    A really cool shot Steve - loving the diagonal and the nice light (for a change from Svalbard haha).
    Thanks for the description as well in how the shot was made.
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Lifetime Member Andre Pretorius's Avatar
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    Hi Steve

    Stunning detail in bear, as expected.
    Clean BG.
    I looked at this before, looked again- the comp does not work for me personally- I find the diagonal line with the snow too dominating.
    I want to crop differently, no matter how I try, this is the best version.
    The closed eyes are fine, but still the amount of snow in FG bothers me.
    Sorry, just my take.
    Regards

    Andre.

    www.gappimages.com

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