Bow Valley Grizzly Bear

[Jamie Douglas]

I spent the first week of June in the Canadian Rockies introducing my new born son to Mother Nature. Little did I know how difficult it would be to find time to edit photos afterwards . Mum is studying for an exam this evening and I am grabbing the free time while little Ewan sleeps to finally get back to posting.

This image was taken around 1:30pm in less than ideal conditions. Fortunately the grizzly bear cooperated for photos but it was bucketing it down with rain.

Techs

Canon 7D with 70-200mm F2.8 IS lens @ F5.6,1/200, ISO800, exp comp 0 - View website version here: http://jamiedouglasphotography.com/p...47a5#h1dec47a5

Taken from truck window resting on beanbag. This was probably the 3rd image I took and although I really like the composition the techs are not ideal. I also discovered how difficult it is to get a natural image of a roadside bear. Luckily we were the first vehicle on the scene and only another two turned up during the 20 minutes I spent watching this bear. Folks need to realise that getting out of the car usually makes a bear uneasy but I wont rant about that here.

Let me know your thoughts as I know I can probably get more from this image.

Thanks

Jamie

[PhilCook]

I wouldn't be too fussed about less than perfect techs, looks more than OK to me. The detail in the fur is amazing and I myself think the natural setting compliments the subject, if one looks hard enough one can see some kind of man made structure, a railing fence maybe, but it hardly stands out so no big deal, could possibly be cloned out with care. If I was going to be picky I'd suggest crop a fraction off the RHS to eliminate the portion of tree trunk visible. I think maybe the dull light has helped here to avoid the brights in a normally harsh lit time of day.

Seeing as bears do not exist in Australia, then must say I'm enthralled !

[Rachel Hollander]

Jamie - nice to see you back posting. I like that the bear is actually in the woods so often we see them in more open spaces from the various parks. I didn't see a grizzly while I was there, only black bears. The pose is nice and so is placement in frame. Techs look fine, impressed you got this with only a 70-200. Guess he was close to the road. If it were mine I might do a levels adjustment bringing the rhs and middle sliders left slightly.

TFS,
Rachel

[Stan Cunningham]

Love the comp Jamie but might be tempted to crop a little off the right as well. Very pretty dark young bear, good job.

[Mark Wiseman]

Hi Jamie,
I like your image. It has good detail and I like the composition. One point, DON'T worry about the tech's, you got the image and that's what counts. In the days of film how was one to know what the camera details were, it all went about the image and it's quality and here you have done well.
Thanks for sharing and best wishes,
Mark.
PS, we have all taken digital images where the tech's were not great, but it is the image that determines wether we got away with it.

[Harshad Barve]

Liked it lot
TFS

[Jamie Douglas]

Thanks very much everyone and I appreciate your words of encouragement

Phil, I am puzzled now about what that fence like object is. I don't see why there would be a fence there and I am thinking they are two fallen aspen trees. I am going to try your crop suggestion.

Rachel, he came close enough for me to really enjoy the moment and see all the detail in his grizzly fur. So glad I had the 70-200 ready on the passenger seat otherwise I would be cursing my 400mm. I do feel I should have been working at at least 1/400 given the bear was moving. I also played around with the levels but felt the fur became too contrasty.

Stan, cheers Stan. This is one of the two orphaned grizzly cubs that showed up earlier this spring after their mother was killed by a train last year.

Mark, cheers Mark

and thanks Harshad.

Have a good weekend

Jamie

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Jamie, I know you have been working hard on this series, however for me, the IQ is not really there and I too feel it looks too contrasty. In addition the light wasn't on your side and I do think you have to be really spot on in exposure to get good results from this body. The comp works well, and I think you were patient enough to allow the bear to come into more of the clearing. I'm hoping that with summer here you will get better opportunities, in better light.

You may not get the pixels, but I think we will swop your body out in Feb/March for one of the MKIII's to see what happens.

TFS
Steve

[Morkel Erasmus]

Steve summed it up nicely for me, Jamie. Very "sooty" (to borrow a phrase ) and a bit too contrasty...though the inkling is always there to boost contrast in gloomy weather in PP...
The comp overall works for me...just wish the conditions were different.
I've seen some great results from the 5Dmk3 ito higher ISO and IQ...are you considering it?

PS: Glad to hear Ewan is doing well...quite an adjustment but I've found if you pay your dues at home when you ARE there, it won't be an issue to go out shooting a bit again (especially as he gets a bit older)

[Jamie Douglas]

Thanks guys,

Steve , I appreciate your comments and it is a shame the IQ was not there in this image. It would be easier photographing these guys if I lived in the rockies and could spend more time searching for them in better conditions. Maybe that is something to work on for the future.

Thanks Morkel. The 5D Mark III is pretty impressive but for now it's diapers and mortgage payments unfortunetly but maybe in time I can put my negotiation skills to the test. I have other images from this encounter with better IQ at the same ISO but the lousy light made it tough getting the details.

Cheers

Jamie