Drip Dry

Brad, the details in the wet fur are great. I also like the fact that the bear is not looking at you, which suggests that you're well camo'ed and not disturbing its routines.

terrific capture IMHO

Beautiful image and the writeup. I also loved your website and the details you have provided

Color, Contrast and Detail are all beautiful. I actually enjoy shooting in overcast conditions because I never have to worry about blowing the whites! The only thing that I'm not loving on this is the OOF grass blade that ever so subtly crosses the snout - of course you could "erase" that but it's not a big issue. Otherwise, I think the OOF grass grames the image well and I like the inclusion of the bear's ears

I absolutely love this one

Am too busy admiring the larger version now to play critic

A very pleasing portrait Brad. Great sharpness and detail and the chosen DOF works out very nice and the bokeh indeed is lovely. I am sure that 400/2.8 must be a super lens for maximum IQ. Personally I do find the TRC a little on the tight side (i.e. ears too close to the edge of the frame). I like the OOF grass in the FG, but IMO this would have been even better if the grass had been a little lower and not obscure the underside of the bear's muzzle. But you know I am really nit-picking here.

Brad, I'm very fond of the shoot through effect. In flower photography they call it "cramming", but I bet you knew that. Not something to do with subjects that don,t fill the frame, but with large ones like this bear it really worked well.
I haven't used the 400 2.8, but do have the 200-400 and really like it. I feel the Glades with all its close quarters almost demands a zoom. But that length Nikon glass is sweet, as you say.
As for Bear-tex clothing, I suppose each outfit would have to come with a layer of fat.
This bear looks pensive, a lot of personality in that eye and down turned head.
Impressive image.

There is nice detail and sharpness around the bears eyes/face. Great eye catch and I like the contemplating look the bear has. I like the OOF grass in this. I agree with your comments on clothing. I am planning on a trip to Yellowstone this winter and I would love to be able to handle the weather conditions with the relative ease the native species do.

Wow, awesome detail! I love the wet fur and soft grass in the foreground!

Ah, now this one is much more my cup of tea Brad ...... if only we could see the other eye as well though ......... I trust I'm not pushing the envelope too far with this little jest and you'll appreciate me adding a ... hang on, lemme' find it ... in this context

Very nice image indeed, and I too love the effects one can get from shooting wildlife (even birds!) wet. Thanks for sharing :^)

I agree with you wholeheartedly on shooting in overcast and rainy conditions Brad...it's part-and-parcel of wildlife photography and one would be naive to just wait for the "golden light", especially with the limited time many of us have in the wilderness...shoot what you see!

I quite like your framing here, cracking IQ and DOF too...personally I would have preferred the snout to be a little higher in relation to the OOF grass in front, but I appreciate your constraints from where you were shooting from and it's certainly no deal-breaker for me.

After just returning from the Khutzeymateen, I certainly understand what makes it such a wonderous place. Thank you for sharing this stellar image. The detail, colours and overall composition work beautifully imo. Great job as always Brad.

OMG.....an out of focus foreground from Brad Hill!!!

Believe it or not, one of your better bear images I have seen from you in a while...something different than your norm. I love it.

lol

I'm totally with you on your advice on rainy weather being an opportunity not a hindrance. This image works for me, the detail is great as are the colors. The tight framing is a good choice and helps mix it up in terms of variety in grizzly images. Foreground grass is attractive to me. The transition for the very sharp snout to the fur of the body behind the snout is quite stark. I might play with the sharpening a little to see if less difference between the two areas would help or hinder the image.

Hey all,

Thanks for all the positive feedback on this one...appreciated. Some specific responses to a few points brought up:

1. Mark. You say: "...which suggests that you're well camo'ed and not disturbing its routines."

Ahhh...that was the "hide in plain sight" camo! Definitely didn't disturb the bear (it just did its thing the whole time) but I was right in front of it and it was well aware I (we) were there. That's one of the beauties of the Khutzeymateen - you spend time among the bears and they let you right into their lives - their whole natural behaviour repertoire is on display right in front of you - everything from courtship and mating through to mother-offspring behaviour, agonistic interactions between rival males, etc. Just so cool....

2. Vincent - you say: "Personally I do find the TRC a little on the tight side (i.e. ears too close to the edge of the frame)". Good point. There is (or I created!) more room to the right of the ear and there is also more room (natural) above the ear in the uncropped version. Agree with your basic point, but in adding more room to the right I have to (by my eye) also add slightly more room on top. The net effect of this ends up being MORE of the dark background that's seen to in the top left side (that dark gray triangle), which just didn't work for me. Always compromises, eh?

3. Ashley - PHEW!! I was worried about you not finding that eye - good to see you tracked it down!!

4. And Tony - you say" "OMG.....an out of focus foreground from Brad Hill!!!"

Geez, normally I'm only misquoted and taken out of context when my stuff is read by non-English speaking folks using Google Translate. But then again, I always forget to check out what I write in that rare language known as Illinoisan (or is it "Ill-annoying"?). Once more, and fore the record, I have NOTHING against out of focus foregrounds.BUT, what I personally don't like (and have brought up at least twice this week on images of others) is having 3 distinct focus bands (OOF foreground, in-focus mid-ground, and OFF backgrounds) that stretch completely across the frame (i.e., edge-to-edge). To ME (personal preference) these almost always look a tad too unnatural (try looking at ANY scene with your eye and producing 3 discernable focus bands) and scream "telephoto" so loudly that the image becomes more about technical issues (and the photographic tools we use) than aesthetic issues. Using multiple out-of-focus zones in an image is VERY tricky (IMO) and avoiding those focus bands when using super-telephotos can be quite a challenge. But...if you check out this image again, you'd be hard-pressed to find any edge-to-edge focus bands!

NOTE to anyone shocked by the candor/bantering between Tony and I: We go back a ways and I would think Tony is sick (and he would think the same of me) if we didn't badger one another whenever possible. Latent alpha male thing and I'm bigger (well, taller) than Tony!!

Cheers all, thanks again...

Brad

LMAO.....nice. Good talking with you again too, I knew that would provoke a response. I do like the image a lot. You are taller, and bigger, and have less hair.

Cheers bud

Fantastic Brad - not much more to say

BIlly !