Umm, That's My Head You're Stepping On

[Rachel Hollander]

It was a lot of fun to watch the cubs playing around. They often wrestled or fake fought. However, it was a bit frustrating to photograph because often the heads were angled away or not visible at all. Here's one that I liked. This was the one day with a bit of cloud cover.

Canon 5D3
100-400 II @ 400mm
1/1500
f5.6
ISO 1600
HH, slight crop to straighten, levels, curves, sharpened in PSCC.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[haseeb badar]

Hi Rachel -- Another lovely Bear image in those lovely green fields. Nice moment as well. I think inclusion of the vegetation on top of the frame is better otherwise it would have been too sterile IMO. Nicely processed as well. Keep them coming .

TFS !

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

A nice behavioral shot Rachel. I like the interaction & habitat. Wish the heads were slightly more angled towards us.

[Andrew McLachlan]

The playful interaction between these two is very nice. I like the eye of the bottom bear and that we can see his teeth too.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Haseeb, Sanjeev and Andrew, much appreciated.

[Steve Kaluski]

A sweet encounter and like Haseeb, I'm glad you kept the darker hedgerow in at the top. Personally I might have tried to get a bit more tone out of the lighter fur for depth. Were you on foot?

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Steve, I'll take a look at the lighter fur. Yes, always on foot at this location. Mom was off a little distance to the right. In fact a few of the next ones I have of are of the cubs stopping their play fighting to look where mom had gone to. We were always mindful of where mom was and keeping a comfortable distance from the cubs which meant further away when mom was further away from them.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Rachel ....this is so good , meaning the behavior captured and the expression of the sitting one is priceless good , telling a short story . Love it .
I am thinking contrary ...this is crying for a tighter view to emphasize the action and the expression , is somehow loosing the intensity by the wider view IMHO .
The darker band is not adding to this ...from my POV .I like the grass being interrupted by the sedge stems , loosing a bit of the " boring " continuity in the grass .
Color and detail looking quite good , i would just give the range from mid tone to the HL more depth . Fading from 100% for the HL to maybe 40 % for the mid tones .

You had some good encounters ...keep them coming .

TFS Andreas

[Jonathan Ashton]

Lovely shot Rachel, getting that extra detail and tonal range in the paler fur is not easy but I love the shot. Wow it must have been a fantastic holiday!.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Andreas and Jon for the comments and suggestions. Jon, the experience at SSCL was top notch.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Rachel, kids will be kids, and this reminds me of two rascals I have at home. I like the playful behaviour between these two cubs, and I can see why you chose this frame with both visible faces. The central comp works well, and I can see a version with the upper darker foliage band removed.

In your comment above - what is/was SSCL ?

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Stu. SSCL is Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, it's one of only 2 or 3 lodges in Lake Clark N.P. and is known for the bear viewing/photography and for fishing.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dearest Rachel,

Wonderful interaction captured and I am extremely amused by the look on the face of the bears, especially one on the RHS of the frame:)

Was busy to view this thread the other night and my Internet connection suddenly went - I am so sorry to comment late, my friend. This is such an enjoyable frame and I spent a great deal of time looking. I like it as presented. Nice techs and PP work too, cool title:) Love those vibrant greens and the overall mood is one of joy and happiness - it must have been great fun for you to observe and photograph this scene.

A pleasure to view, thank you again Rachel!

Kind regards,