Black Bear Cub

Gallery: WildlifePosted October 6, 2013101 views8 comments

I was lucky enough to spend some time with this very cooperative cub, along with its mom and two siblings, on a couple of occasions this summer. I tried to bring as much detail out of the blacks as I could without giving the image that "washed out" look. Any thoughts? As always, comments and critiques are greatly appreciated.

Black Bear (Ursus americanus)
Chugach State Park, Alaska
09/06/2013 - 5:52 PM

Canon 7D
Canon 100-400mm lens @ 400mm
1/250 sec @ f5.6
iso 500
© Teklanika Photography 2013

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on October 6, 2013 at 7:51 PM

I think you could go a bit more on the blacks on the bear without washing anything out Guy. I like the colorful and dense vegetation he's standing in front of, way to go catching him in the open. Very well done.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on October 6, 2013 at 8:15 PM

Awwww! What a cute little guy! I like how it's just him against the green, it helps him pop more. I agree with Gary regarding the blacks.

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Reed on October 6, 2013 at 8:45 PM

Guy, nice detail, nothing washed out...might be able to push a little more detail or just a selective dodge on the left eye area. Nice capture.

Registered on September 19, 2009, 198 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Christine Adams on October 6, 2013 at 8:46 PM

Cute factor!! I think it would be more suited as a vertical, if possible? Looking forward to seeing more!

Registered on January 24, 2006, 119 Posts, 1871 Comments

Comment posted by John Jeevaratnam on October 6, 2013 at 10:51 PM

Well, I think you did a good job with getting the shine out of the wet fur. I do like the bears cautious look at the photographer too. I would critique the shot by suggesting doing a tighter crop, you have enough detail on the background which would not get lost even if you did a closer crop. Perhaps a square or a portrait crop.

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

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on October 7, 2013 at 3:07 AM

Guy,
I think that this will definitely accept a little more opening up of the blacks, and perhaps needs a reduction in the blues.
For this attempt I used shadows highlights at +4 for shadows and reduced the blues in shadows by 13.
I think it could go even more

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on October 7, 2013 at 5:17 PM

What a cute shot Guy, love the framing by foliage and the expression.
Ken's repost is looking good in my eyes...colour is corrected and it's more vibrant.

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Runco on October 9, 2013 at 11:09 PM

Thanks for the input everyone, much appreciated. Ken: thank you for the rework - it helped me realize that I was due for monitor calibration, and it looks great!

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