Curiosity

[Steve Kaluski]

This Polar Bear was curious as he came to the ship. As he approached he stopped, looked down and just gazed at the water. As to whether he was curious due to the reflection who knows, but it has happened many times when subject are close, they look down the barrel of the 500 and just stare directly as they see their reflection. Little owls OK, but a full adult lioness was not ideal and the lens was then slowly and quietly put down until the attention was drawn to something else.

The highlights in the fur towards the middle of the back and RHS I'm OK on, to eliminate them (if at all) would be to the detriment of the exposure because you would probably be shooting at -3 EV.

Thanks to those who posted or viewed the previous thread.

Steve

Subject: Polar bear (Ursus Maritimus) gazing at reflection
Location: Svalbard
Camera: Canon 1DX MKI
Lens: 70-200 f/2.8 MKII HH
Exposure: 1/2500s at f/8 ISO1000
Original format: Portrait, slight crop from the top, almost FF width
Processed via: LRCC & PSCC2018

[Jonathan Ashton]

Even I have nothing to say about the highlights, I think the way you have portrayed the light and the detail in the fur has got to be one of your very best accomplishments to date. This image is a little bit magical for me

[Gabriela Plesea]

A very good evening to you Steve
What grabs me here most - apart from the composition, which I think is very clever - is that only when I look at the subject's eyes in the reflection I actually see the expression. Draws me in, love your thinking behind the frame, just works.

Superb colours as usual and the clarity and detail we are used to seeing from you. HL you mentioned in your intro are barely there, IMO not an issue at all.

I also like the placement of the subject within the frame, slightly off center, its (darker) reflection adds some nice contrast, great visual balance overall.

I must admit I have learnt so much from you over the years - I hope it shows, sometimes? To this day I still take my time to ponder why you did this and that and what was your thinking behind every image. Thank you so much Steve

Warmest regards,

[Steve Kaluski]

This image is a little bit magical for me

Cheers Jon, a bit humbled by your words, thanks.

Steve

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gabriela, nice to have you back, hope you had a great time and have come back with armfuls of images.

You do far more thinking than I do and put things into more of an eloquent manner too.

I must admit I have learnt so much from you over the years - I hope it shows

Thank you, but we all learn from each other I hope and occasionally an image inspires folk as per young Stu P. The world is a great place to photograph in and that is why I try to vary locations otherwise I feel you can get a bit stale at times, but Africa and Bears are hard to beat and to that point 2020 is already being planned...

To this day I still take my time to ponder why you did this and that and what was your thinking behind every image.

Hard to say at times, however I used to ask the same question to Peter D many moons ago, a good question to discuss over a large glass at some point.

Lets hope its not too long before you start to post and inspire us, you have a wonderful back yard.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you so much Steve,

I do have some images from this trip, maybe not an armful, more like a handful
And you are very modest as always - I do have the "backyard", but you have the wisdom and experience I keep drawing from every day

Talking about plans, I already booked and paid for my next trip to the "magic land" in March 2019. Would like to explore some new places in 2020, another topic to discuss over a large glass at some point.

BTW I already posted a rather modest image tonight, more to follow

Warmest regards,

[Steve Kaluski]

I already posted a rather modest image tonight, more to follow

OK, will look tomorrow with fresh eyes.

BTW check for another small LR update, seems better and the laptop after a fresh rebuild is much happier too.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Update was done this afternoon thank you so much Steve.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Steve - This is now one of my favorites of your arctic images. It's all about that deep blue, mirror like reflection. Lovely detail in the snow too. Hls don't bother me at all. I can see this working as a square image too with some off the top.

TFS,
Rachel

[keith mitchell]

Steve that great reflection makes for a great image,two for one.Tec bits perfect as per usual ,really enjoyed this one.

Keith.