Banff Black Bear #2

[Rachel Hollander]

This is the same sighting of the black bear near Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies. This time he was closer but still in the gulley. I used the spot healing brush to get rid of the ear tag, radio collar and a piece of tall brush that was in front of the bear.

Canon 7D
100-400 @ 400mm
1/640
f5.6
ISO 800
HH, slight crop for comp, levels adjustment and sharpened in CS5.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Grant Atkinson]

Hi Rachel, I like this one a lot, really like the bears perked up ears, and the eye contact. Nice framing of vegetation in the foreground. I am viewing on a bad screen but suspect that it might be worth trying to lighten the very dark areas in the bears ears. I would also be tempted to crop a little off the rhs and top to match. Good work on the processing and getting the shot, doesnt seem like it is that easy to get good images of black bears..

[Arthur Morris]

Though this image is sharp and well exposed and the bear is looking at you it does not do a lot for me.... The hillside with the branches and lot of either noise or bad BOKEH are problems.

[Steve Canuel]

Nice detail in the face and I like the FG bushes, both their color and their shape. Provides a nice element for the bear to peer over. If mine, I'd run a bit of NR/blur and darken up the BG just a touch.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Grant, Artie and Steve for the comments and suggestions, much appreciated. Here's a repost with NR run on the bg and the ears lightened a slight amount. I couldn't lighten the ears too much because I had removed the ear tag and the cloning would show.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Hilary Hann]

Rachel, I think the bokeh problem is something you will see more often now you are working with the 7D - 100-400 combination, as I have found. I know that it can be reduced and many have subdued it well, I'm still trying!! I see that you were at 400, but I think this would have worked very nicely as a vertical, using the 'V' shape of the vegetation under the bear's chest as a bottom frame, cutting off some of the body of the bear and balancing the rhs and leaving the top as is. I very rarely do a re-post of other people's images, so I hope you can understand my vague cropping idea.

[Susan Candelario]

I like your exp and how the bear is looking at you. Nice work on the repost.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Hilary and Susan.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel, good to see you enjoying yourself with these guys, they are fun.

I do think you could perhaps go for a slightly tighter crop, this might be too tight, as the bear seems a little lost in all that space with some distracting elements. Agin, this is what I suggested to Hilary re her Zebra, convert to B/W but let the colour of those eyes come through. Just another take and perhaps reduces some of the elements in the BKG too.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Steve, not generally my type of thing but fun to see.