Wet Bear

Gallery: WildlifePosted September 16, 2013131 views10 comments

Hi Everyone! This is one of the favourite bear pictures I've taken so far. I was on a drive with my dad in Waterton Lakes National Park this July when we spotted this bear. Normally we wait until the evening to look for bears but because it was such a rainy day we decided to go in the afternoon. I'm sure glad we did! I love this guy's colours and the way he is looking at me.

I hope you like him too!

Nikon D300
Tamron SP 70-210mm f/2.8 LD lens @ 210mm
ISO 640
1/1000sec @ f/4
-0.7EV
On beanbag from truck window

Dad's processing notes:
Converted from RAW using Phase One Capture One Pro 7
Minor adjustments to tone and contrast using Nik Color Efex Pro 4 and Nik Viveza 2
Light pass of Nik Dfine 2.0
Selective sharpening
Cropped to appr. 70% of original

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Ralph Kerr on September 16, 2013 at 6:59 AM

Nice Black Bear Josiah. The detail is great, including the eyes, which are so hard to get with Black Bear. The OOF greenery draws my eye away from the subject, and my preference would be to try a square crop of this image to get rid of that distraction. Congrats on a great photo.

Registered on January 30, 2007, 369 Posts, 852 Comments

Comment posted by John Jeevaratnam on September 16, 2013 at 10:01 AM

Nice photo Josiah. I like the colours and pose of the bear. If I was to critique your photo, I would suggest a closer crop. However I do like a hint of its environment. Seems like your family have good outings together.

Registered on July 29, 2013, 112 Posts, 229 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on September 16, 2013 at 10:02 AM

Really interesting to see the brown highlights along the shoulder, Josiah. I don't see many black bears with brown mixed in--it's usually black or all-cinnamon. A nice colorful setting as well. The OOF vegetation on the left is slightly distracting, but at least with the bear's pose it does make it appear like it's looking around the plant life to peek at us.

Max

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

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on September 16, 2013 at 12:32 PM

Great shot! The bear is perfectly positioned in the foilage. I would probably crop about a quarter of the frame from the left to eliminate the green blob but it's really not that big of a deal to me. I would like to have this shot in my portfolio.

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

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on September 16, 2013 at 2:36 PM

Nice Josiah, I like how he is framed by the beautiful surrounding vegetation.My first reaction was that the green blob is a bit distracting, but looking at it longer made me realise it is actually very complimentary and aids in the framing of the bear.

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on September 16, 2013 at 4:39 PM

Neat capture, Josiah. This is fine as posted...but I would also try it cropped as a vertical to see what I liked best!

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

Comment posted by Ken Archer on September 16, 2013 at 7:30 PM

A super sweet black bear portrait Josiah

I really like the texture of the wet fur, the two toned fur color is cool too.

A pleasing composition to explore.

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

Comment posted by Marlise Launstein on September 18, 2013 at 1:10 PM

This guy has a really cute look on his face! I love the way he is looking at you, his colors are really neat and it's nice and sharp.

Registered on August 31, 2011, 28 Posts, 175 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Clinch on September 22, 2013 at 3:29 PM

Nicely composed, the grasses and flowers create a great sense of the bear's environment. Exposure, dof and resolution are all very good. I agree with Vincent that the green area is not that big a deal, maybe you could selectively dodge that area a bit.

Registered on January 5, 2013, 37 Posts, 261 Comments

Comment posted by Josiah Launstein on January 24, 2015 at 4:32 PM

Thank you everyone for commenting on my picture.

Registered on January 26, 2013, 52 Posts, 126 Comments