Spirit Shower

Hi Tony,

this shot also made me smile when I saw it. As you said, you captured just the right amount of action. On comparing it the more "classic" poses, I find that this image does complement the classics and it shows some very nice behaviour. I probably would have liked to have it a bit more front on but that's just being a bit jealous as I don't think I have one in my set of photos.

I also was on this trip with Tony and Brad so I may be biased on liking this image

Cheers,

André
(just got back to Australia yesterday, so haven't even started processing images yet)

Superb image Anthony! I understand why it makes you smile. great composition and love the flying water droplets of course!

your bear images are all amazing,, what an exciting experience that must be to be there and witness that firsthand,, excellent work !!

The foreground rocks are a bit bright for me. I find them pulling my eye away from the bear. I'd burn them down (excluding the fish which is connected to the bear via the blood), leaving the bear as the bright object in the picture.

Thanks all!

Andre, good to see you have finally made it home and I am looking forward to seeing your images. I hope you survived the wilds of Vegas without hocking all your camera gear.

Ron, Yes I noticed the foreground rocks after I posted, but they are not that bright on the tiff. I don't have this mind numbing white screen helping in photoshop. I have burned them down a tad already.

I like the action shot, but prefer the previous post as a stand alone image.

It would have been good to see his eyes but the action itself compensates everything...A great image...

A nice shot indeed but I would have to agree that the brightness in the foreground rocks are distracting. I would imagine photographing a white bear in a dark background conditions is a very hard scene for the camera to meter. My favorite shot is really the one on your website called "My Fish". Excellent clarity, (I like the water droplets right below the fish) with no distracting elements around the bear, so you focus on the bear and those dark eyes looking at you. This must have been a wonderful trip and what an opportunity!

I love that spray Tony! I do wish that the head would be facing the camera i.o. away to create some more 'contact' with the bear even though I realise it most likely has its eyes closed.
Regarding the FG rocks; people may have a point, though personally it does not bother me and all looks natural to me.

Love it and the foreground rocks are not an issue to me in this photo.

I would like to see it horizontally and with a little more space on the left.

Very nice shot, with a non-classic pose.

Congratulations

daniel

This looks fine to me and I like the comp. Ideally this would be part of a series, showing the eye contact in one shot, then this wonderful arc of spray in this one.

Hi Tony,

I intentionally stayed out the fray until now - given I was there when the image was shot I was trying to keep my biases to myself until others had a go at it. I know you wouldn't respect me if I didn't tell you exactly what I thought...so here goes:

Technically this shot came out quite well. I tend to agree that the foreground rocks are on the bright side - I'd pull the exposure down on these if the image were mine. Overall the image feels just a bit contrasty and harsh to me. You've mentioned before (and above) that "...I don't have this mind numbing white screen helping in photoshop." Hmmm...I'm not sure I understand...

In terms of capturing the motion - you mention that you captured the action just the way you wanted to. Well, no one can argue with that - if it works for you, it works for you! Glad to see the equipment allowed you to capture the image as you desired! Personally (and completely subjectively), I tend to like action shots with a little more tension in them - i.e., where the moving elements are slightly more blurred and and thus stand out in contrast to the more static elements. In this case my preference would be to see more motion blur in fastest moving regions of the head and in the water droplets. But, I want to reiterate that this is personal preference ONLY - this is not the type of thing where there's a right or wrong...

In terms of the "smile factor" - ultimately this is probably the most important test! Given your reaction to it (and those of others who also commented on the smile) - congrats! The image obviously works!

Cheers...looking forward to seeing more...

Brad

LOL...thanks all, it is interesting what people like to see and envision given a second chance on a rare subject. This has been fun! Yes I think I agree with some of your comments Brad, after I finished crying of course. I am glad you mentioned the contrast, because I was curious if it was a tad too much. I try pulling it back some and see what comes out.

Fantastic motion shot and great detail on the bear. Well done! :toast

I must congratulate you, Anthony, on a lovely image! I know how difficult it must have been to get this image. Your first reaction would have been to click as many frames as possible when the water was being sprayed all over. The feelings about the image will come later - wish the bear had turned towards me; wish I had slowed down the shutter speed a tad so as to get some motion blur; wish I had positioned myself a little more to the left........sigh! Forget all the comments. Just see the moment all over again in your mind's eye, and enjoy!

You are a wise person Ajit