How close?

Oh my!! Full frame with a 16-35 and this subject. Powerful image. I really like the perspective. Wish for a little more detail on the shadowed side of the bear. Guess you didn't have time to put on a flash for a little fill

Hi Keith, although Brad H would be the ideal person to confirm this, I'm not too sure that flash is allowed for obvious reasons. However I very rarely use flash, occasionally with birds, however in an ideal world, yes a hint of fill-in would have been ideal.

Steve

Hey Steve,

Dramatic shot, especially given the focal length. Good presence of mind to keep shooting in this situation - I can relate to the feeling of having such a big bear breathing down one's throat! Not 100% sure what you mean when you said you left the CP on (what's a CP? Circular polarizer I'm guessing??) - you must be a fan of texting!!

I'm wondering how this scene would have looked if the original capture was in vertical format, but I'm not 100% convinced that going vertical would have produced a better image (the horizontal format here does give some nice environmental context to the subject). In a perfect world I'd like to see a little more detail in those shadows - especially in the shaded portion of the face - but based on the strength of the side-lighting it could be you have pretty true blacks there (i.e., nothing to retrieve in processing).

RE: Use of flash to fill. Technically a good suggestion. And, some would argue that it wouldn't bother the bear (I wouldn't make that argument myself). And...two further things I can say:

1. All the guides I have worked with absolute forbid flash-fill when working tightly with bears (and I agree with this policy).

2. In this situation, I would not recommend conducting an impromptu experiment to assess how THIS bear feels about flash fill. . After all, why put such a majestic bear at risk with your flash? (if the bear took exception to the flash and killed you, the poor bear would likely be destroyed, even if the bear's behaviour was totally justified!)

Cheers...thanks for sharing this - and thanks for not putting the bear at any further risk!

Brad

Great image Steve, especially considering the focal length. Having been with Brad on some of his trips, I also agree, not a good time to start experimenting with flash fill

It would have been an awesome experience having such a beautiful creature so close. I really like the perspective here and the environment that shows where you were.

thanks,
André

It must have been an incredible experience, I can feel the power of this image ! Whether allowed or not, I never use a flash on mammals. I just wish, it had shown more of his sunny side.
Jagdeep Rajput

The low POV really stokes my imagination of how thrilling this encounter must have been, wonderful shot Steve :^)

An amazing image, Steve! The low angle works so well here and shows off the lumbering giant against the magnificent backdrop!

Cheers everyone.

Thanks Brad for confirming things re flash and overall input. In fact the main image that has been floating about is portrait, I posted this as a change, so the other may rear its head later on.

cheers
Steve

Awesome POV here Steve; what a thrilling encounter that must have been! I cannot really understand the vote for vertical, to me this screams horizontal to include as much as possibleof the environment. I do echo the call for shadow detail retrieval.

Sorry Brad, meant to expand, CP is Circular Polariser, I lose track of these abbreviations too, however I just assumed, one should never assume.

Hi Lon, I did look at shadow retrieval, however I think the filter just killed most of the info, however I could try another method that someone very kindly eluded to a while back here, but am quite happy as presented, but it's always worth reviewing.

To also further qualify, I posted full frame purely on the basis of the content/moment and felt any cropping would have perhaps diluted the experience.

Hi Bill, all of us in tact with no injuries thanks, a great talking point that night on board the crabster. However on reflection the bear guide was behind both of us so he was three deep, guess he new what he was doing if anything went wrong. Just goes to show, with a good guides experience you can achieve some awesome experiences and were both subject & viewer leave safe & happy.

cheers
Steve

Wow, talk about close, excellent image and story on how it all came about. Interesting to hear the guide was behind both of you. The low perspective and walking pose really add to the image, well done.

Stunning image of this powerful animal.
I can imagine this is among your best animal encounters.
I love the horizontal frame, as it gives more room for the surroundings.
About respect: this works both way I belief. If you show respect for a wild animal, it will give you respect in return.
Thx for sharing.
Jef

Unbelievable POV Steve! Your powerful image is a stunning reminder of why Katmai NP has such a hold on those of us lucky enough to have seen it in person. I really like the low, low angle and horizontal view. Not much you can do about the strong side light I sure wouldn't want to experiment with fill flash on any bear, let alone one that close. Nicely Done!

Wow! Like the low angle. Must have been quite the experience!