Grizzly w/ repost

Gallery: WildlifePosted February 23, 2010192 views13 comments

I photographed this grizzly bear near the Indian Creek campground in Yellowstone a few years ago. I first saw him near the campground. He swam across a creek and approached the main road, crossed it then paralleled the road before recrossing and heading into the woods. It seemed like he was on his way somewhere and didn't have time to linger. The only time he stopped was to dig out under an old log but there must not have been anything there cause he quickly moved on. This was the best shot I got. I like the soft light, the nice catchlight in the eye and the way he is framed by the gnarly looking deadfall. Outside of my chocolate lab grizzlies are my favorite animals and I really enjoy any opportunities to photograph them.

Nikon D70 nikkor MF 300/2.8 with TC 14 and monopod.

Thanks for any comments.

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on February 23, 2010 at 8:19 PM

Robert, nice detail in the fur and I agree with you about the eye. It's always the toughest part for me when it comes to bears.

btw- I hear there are already grizzlies out and about over there! It's definitely been a mild winter for the park.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Joe Sulik on February 23, 2010 at 9:09 PM

Very cool shot Robert, the bear is sharp, and I like the framing with the deadfall, it might be a bit too much, but there was obviously nothing you could about it. I also love the catchlight in eye.

Registered on January 7, 2009, 51 Posts, 165 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Runco on February 24, 2010 at 12:19 AM

Nice shot! The oof fg deadfall may be just a bit much for my tastes, but the bear is nice and sharp and the color of the eye is beautiful...

Registered on September 9, 2008, 77 Posts, 705 Comments

Comment posted by Sandipan Dutta on February 24, 2010 at 2:55 AM

Like the detail captured on fur and the exposure is perfect....Would love to see the full body of the bear though I understand that it would have been difficult to manage, considering the field conditions. The leftmost curved branch in the OOF fg is bit distracting but again it's not something that was in your control...overall a very appealing image.

Registered on March 9, 2009, 171 Posts, 493 Comments

Comment posted by Jorne de Bruin on February 24, 2010 at 7:53 AM

Love the eye here, I agree those are aqlways difficult wiht bears, so great job

I agree with some of the others the dead is just a tad much, but nohting you could do about that.

Registered on June 26, 2008, 178 Posts, 2136 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on February 24, 2010 at 9:33 AM

Hi Robert,

Technically you nailed this one - the exposure looks spot on and the sharpness of the bear is great (plus the aperture you chose definitely kept all critical parts of the bear in sharp focus). While I like the concept of framing the bear with vegetation and/or other natural objects, in this case the number of chaotic lines in the deadfall does distract my eye quite a bit (I think if the out-of-focus objects were more continuous the image would work better for me). I'm glad to hear that grizzlies are you're favourite wild animals - you'll have lots of opportunities to shoot them next fall!

Cheers...thanks for sharing this...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by JACK NEAL on February 25, 2010 at 1:16 AM

Good shot! I like the way you caught the eye. Have you enough pixels to do a close up? I would love to have seen this bear that close.

Registered on September 26, 2009, 131 Posts, 554 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on February 25, 2010 at 10:08 AM

Here is a tighter crop as suggested by Jack Neal.

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by JACK NEAL on February 25, 2010 at 4:19 PM

Robert,
I really like the close up of the bear! Your detail and color are great and the eyes are even better than they were[hard to do].
Thanks for doing that!
Jack

Registered on September 26, 2009, 131 Posts, 554 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on February 25, 2010 at 6:12 PM

Sweet griz photo Robert! The tighter crop is more pleasing to my eye.

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on February 25, 2010 at 10:35 PM

i like the repost better. The eyes are definitively sharp. Lovely image.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on February 27, 2010 at 10:32 AM

The repost has that "in your face" feeling!

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Jeff Loomis on March 2, 2010 at 10:21 AM

Love the repost! The foreground branches give me the sensation that I'm hiding behind the deadfall, hoping the bear doesn't notice me. If he were really that close, I'd be shaking in my shoes.

What an impressive animal and great photo.

Registered on January 26, 2010, 68 Posts, 719 Comments