Ursus maritimus - The 'Ice' Bear

[Steve Kaluski]

Light was bright and shooting in snow compounded things, plus you cannot rely on the cameras metering, you need to and should rely on your Histogram. If you went by the camera it would be under exposed by 1 to 2 stops at times.

This was a young guy, almost pristine white with little or no colouring, as often they will have what appears to be 'yellow' patches in their coats. The fur is made up of hollow quills, their skin black like the tongue, but he would still eat you without hesitation. As the sun came from the RHS it was nice to have a slight head turn to get some light on the eye, but just enough not to blow the whites. The question was, is he coming to check us out, or for something else...? Shot through one of the bow line portals.

Thanks to those who posted or viewed the previous thread.

Steve

Subject: Young Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) on pack ice
Location: Svalbard
Camera: Canon 1DX MKI
Lens: 200-400f/4 HH
Exposure: 1/2500s at f/8 ISO640
Original format: Landscape, slight crop from top, almost FF width
Processed via: LRCC & PSCC2017

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Steve, a wonderful Polar Bear image. Great detail & sharpness. Thanks for the tip on exposure. You handled the light exceptionally. I like the central positioning & head angle.

[haseeb badar]

HI Steve -- Absolutely fantastic ! It must have been challenging in handling the exposure with everything White. Lovely fine details and nicely composed . Lovely details in the snow in the FG as well . The image makes me go to this place even more than before . superbly done !

TFS !

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Steve - those paws are massive! When he grows into them he will be huge! Nicely handled on the sidelighting and exposure. Beautiful detail in both the snow and the bear. It all works for me.

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

The image makes me go to this place even more than before . superbly done !

Haseeb, you will need 'long pants' if you do, but it is, as Rachel knows, a magical place, it's the same as India, but colder.

Checkput a posting I made in Landscapes.

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks folks.

[John Mack]

Nice image with good detail. Really like the snow and ice.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hey Mr Ice bear ....
good looking specimen even if not being a large male i guess . As the head does look quite small compared to the body .I like the movement captured and the tilted head tells he is looking somewhere of interest , good to see a relatively low POV even if taken from a boat . I guess it is the advantage of the small boat you have been on .
Techs and IQ looking very nice ....but at least i do expect that ....and you deliver
Good solid arctic setting and the water adds to the image as it does throw in some nice variation and color .
I am not 100 % on the central placement of the bear , but understand it is not easy to find the balance as the bear is moving to of the frame and looking the other way ......
What jumps into my eye is the very light patch of ice/snow in the URC ....loose it by cropping or tame it with some tone ....just my view .

TFS Andreas

[keith mitchell]

Steve one excellent job of what must be a very difficult subject with all that white and changing light,that's one magnificent animal.

Keith.

[Giovanni Frescura]

I like this shoot..details are perfect and the same the light.For me the best composition could be without the piece of ice on the left and more space on the right to avoid the bear in the centre and give more dinamic idea to the shoot.
But those are very very little ideas..

[Jonathan Ashton]

Steve this is first class, my eyes are continually drawn to the fur and the claws, wonderful exposure and detail control. Not crazy about the central position of the bear but a super quality shot. The snow looks natural - not absolutely pure white - did you do some blue removal selectively to the bear?

[Steve Kaluski]

did you do some blue removal selectively to the bear?

No Jon, but folk have this hang up, you either control it in the 'general' WF if required or leave it. Similar to any 'cast' that may come into play, Canon goes one way, Nikon another, identify that, get a good basis for your WB, job done. You can then work on the Colour management of the image along with the rest of the adjustments.

[Gabriela Plesea]

A very good evening to you Steve,

Please forgive my late comments as I was away during the week-end, I did have access to internet on my laptop but decided to wait until I got home so I could view on the big screen.

My first thought is one of slight envy, I would so love to have the opportunity to photograph those amazing Polar Bears in their arctic environment. The challenge of shooting in those lighting (and snow) conditions, white bear on white background, so exciting...Finding the correct WB during PP work, perhaps a bit of challenge too, don't know...

Perfectly exposed and I like the composition here. I completely agree with your decision to place the bear in the middle of the frame, he is heading towards the right but looks to the left, no better option IMO. Lovely walking pose and I like that massive raised paw. Beautiful detail (even in the shadow areas), colours, sharpness, superb PP work as always. I do think he was coming to check you out...But so glad you took the time to capture a couple a frames, and I thank you so much for sharing - much appreciated!

Warmest regards,

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Steve, excellent exposure on this fellow, and you have captured the finer detail of his coat so well. He is a fine, healthy looking bear, and I like the slightly raised left Paw. Well captured mate.