Another bear in more favorable light. I don't normally like side lighting, but liked this one. Harder to see on the downsized version, but there were a ton of flies around the bear -- a lot of fun they were :). Small crop, double processed the shadow on the face by about 1/3 stop and then blended just to get a bit of detail visible.
Camera: Nikon D5 (rented)
Lens: 200-500mm f/5.6 at 250mm
Specs: 1/2000 f/7.1 ISO 1,600 from a zodiac
Thanks for looking and commenting on prior posts!
Alex
Hi Alex, the light perhaps wasn't on your side here, racking across, but you did well. The shadows have been pushed because of the light and so trying to retain detail in those areas is again, hard. Techs look good/better and here, the blue in the tree lines is reflective of the colours. Tonally there is more you can get from the bear to add more form and depth, just depends on how far you want to take it and also not to stray too far from your recollection of the scene.
Lovely image, what I like most is the pose from the Bear and the eye contact. Techs look good and you exposed well, despite some challenging lighting conditions. Framing is great, nice vibrant colours and the forest in the BG is superb. I did notice the little flies
I gather it must be quite difficult, shooting from a Zodiac - were you the only photographer on the boat?
Hope you post some more images, love the species. BTW I once had a close encounter with a Brown Bear, I must have been about thirteen years old at the time. After that my Mom never allowed me to go on camping trips, LOL
Hi Alex .... quite unusual look for a shot taken from zodiac .
You had to deal with some hard light conditions , so you did quite well .
Framing , backdrop and colors are very good . I think you can get away with some more detail in the darks , and still keep the typical strong contrast under these conditions. The eye contact is a nice bonus .
Would have never thought this was from a zodiac. The bear gave a nice pose with nice eye contact. The light is what it is. I would take this anyday though. Like the composition and the sense of the environment. Im sure the flies were fun. Overcast light would have been nice here.
Alex,if you have already explained this before please direct me there. Are you on a boat in an upland...mountainous lake?? John's comment above is what I see in your image ,it looks like a huge valley behind the bear?? Yet you are on water.
I like the image because I'm already perplexed by it,does that make sense?? Alex very simply I'd lift that right eye slightly and surrounding shadow so it's just a bit more visible. The head feels slightly unbalanced to me
I'd also echo Gabriela's comment, about how tricky it must be making images on water if it isn't only you and maybe a guide ?
It's a really cool image Alex , well seen and taken. It also has me bemused
Hi all, thanks for the thoughts and comments -- can get some more detail out of the face and dark portions.
Gabriela -- not surprised by your mom's reaction! My mom was like when I said what I was doing. I had only seen them from afar in Yellowstone before this, so very cool to see them closer, and relaxed. There were 6 others on the zodiac, great group and enough space in the zodiac to still maneuver around, although kneeing in a zodiac can be tough! Shooting from the zodiac is somewhat of a challenge -- the water isn't rough but you still have some degree of movement / bobbing, so, especially for tighter shots, I would have the first burst cutting off the ears, the next burst cutting off the legs, but the third burst with the proper composition.
Stu -- pretty much! This is an inlet region, so you have two mountains pretty much and then a river cutting through that becomes more / less accessible with the tide, which is what outings are based on. So the zodiac can get relatively eye level as bears come down to eat grass, again depending on the tide. Very cool experience.
Hi Alex -- I liked the pose and settings and you have done well considering that difficult lighting condition. Like others i too feel that you can easily get some more details in the dark areas.
I have to admit that the shadow on the bear's face is a bit much for my tastes, but I love the mountainous setting and the composition. It does look like you are standing on dry ground rather than a zodiac. What a great experience!
Grizzly bear
when I said what I was doing. I had only seen them from afar in Yellowstone before this, so very cool to see them closer, and relaxed. There were 6 others on the zodiac, great group and enough space in the zodiac to still maneuver around, although kneeing in a zodiac can be tough! Shooting from the zodiac is somewhat of a challenge -- the water isn't rough but you still have some degree of movement / bobbing, so, especially for tighter shots, I would have the first burst cutting off the ears, the next burst cutting off the legs, but the third burst with the proper composition.
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