Placid, Timid and BIG!

Placid, Timid and BIG!

After the novel I wrote with my last post, I'm determined to keep this one MUCH shorter! That's not to say that this bear doesn't have an equally interesting story behind him (one has to regularly remind him he's a BEAR, not a human), but...

Anyway, this is a sub-adult male grizzly doing what most grizzlies do best in the spring - munching on grass. While I'm not happy with how the bear's right eye is "rendered" in this shot, I do like how this portrait captures this bear's placid (and timid) nature. While still young (about 7 or 8 years old) this guy is still growing into his body and still has out-sized ears and feet (and consequently looks a tad goofy!).

Subject: Sub-adult grizzly (Ursus arctos) munching on grass
Location:Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada
Camera: Nikon D4
Lens: AF-S Nikkor 80-400mm f4.5-5.6 VR @ 250mm - hand-held from floating zodiac. VR on and in "Normal" mode.
Exposure: 1/400s @ f8; ISO 400. -0.33 compensation compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.
Crop: None - this is full frame

This is my first image where final touching up (sharpening for web output, etc.) was done using Photoshop CC and, in particular, the new Smart Sharpen tool. More about this (and the performance of the new 80-400 lens) right here on my website...

http://www.naturalart.ca/galleries/latest/.

Comments and critiques welcomed - probably best to view the larger version prior to doing so!

Cheers...

Brad

PS: I'm off to north of the Arctic Circle in a few days (in pursuit of Muskox, among other things) so won't be posting anything else until sometime after July 5. In the meantime - best of luck to everyone with their shooting...