Black bear

Gallery: WildlifePosted February 27, 2014223 views7 comments

I found a few black bears one late afternoon in Shenandoah National Park in November, 2013 rooting around in the leaves for acorns. Of course it caused a bear jam on the road. I returned shortly after dawn the next morning and located a single bear enjoying the solo breakfast. The light was perfect and he stepped out of the tree line very briefly. I was able to stop and grab a few images safely. Nikon D300 with Nikon 200-400. F6.3 1/640 ISO 800. Comments and critiques always welcome. Thanks

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on February 27, 2014 at 9:03 PM

Very nice, the exposure looks to be dead on to max the detail in the black fur. Nice pose. Maybe just tone down the one or two brighter small trunks back left. Well handled.

Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on February 27, 2014 at 9:24 PM

Black bears are so difficult to expose properly. You did a very good job on this one. I agree about toning down some of the bright spots in the background. Well done.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on February 28, 2014 at 8:08 AM

Hello Andrew

Bears are naturally photogenic!:) The large ball of Fur always looks very appealing. Well exposed bear and image seems sharp.
Seems to fit the square crop. Thanks for sharing!

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on February 28, 2014 at 10:54 AM

Well done on this image Andrew . . .

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on February 28, 2014 at 11:14 PM

Love this one! Great pose from the bear! I echo the others comments on exposure.

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

Comment posted by Brad Hill on March 1, 2014 at 8:27 AM

Hi Andrew,

This is nice - I particularly like the colour palette - and the colouring on the leaves the bear is sitting in. Based on the shadows the bear is casting it looks like the sun was quite high in the sky - always tough to handle this situation and you did well in that regard. I think your choice of a square crop suits the subject matter well. And...I personally don't find the brighter tree trunks at all distracting or off-putting - works fine for me exactly as posted.

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on March 2, 2014 at 12:43 AM

I agree fully with Brad's points. The clean light on the bear's face is excellent, detail looks fine and the warm colors of the surroundings are a strong plus. Nice work.

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