Yellowstone Black Bear

Gallery: WildlifePosted September 26, 2016110 views6 comments

I found this mother black bear along with her two cubs in the white bark pine tress along Yellowstone's Dunraven Pass . In this image, the mother had just come down from the trees where she had broken off several branches. Once on the ground, she ate the nuts as her cubs remained safely in the trees. Processed using Lightroom CC (2015.6.1) and Photoshop CC (2015.5) along with Light Craft's LightZone. Comments and critiques welcome.

Canon 1DX Mark II
Canon 200-400 f4 L IS
f5.6
1/320s
Focal Length 560mm (Teleconverter Engaged)
ISO 800

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Pete Bengeyfield on September 26, 2016 at 9:29 AM

This is a nice shot of her, Jerry. Great expression and the exposure is spot on.

Registered on December 2, 2003, 1247 Posts, 3439 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on September 26, 2016 at 9:44 AM

I hear that for once, the pine nut crop has been pretty good, which is good for the bears.

You did well here, Jerry. It's not easy to get such a clear view of the eyes when they're busy foraging all day. Nice that you were at eye level. If you have a shot with a slightly better head position (clear of that small pine in front of the face) that would be ideal, but they don't always cooperate!

Max

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

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on September 26, 2016 at 9:48 AM

Max, the bear was in a pretty tight space. You can see a sliver of a tree on the right. In actuality, I was pretty lucky that she chose this small open space, as it was pretty thick all around.

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

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on September 26, 2016 at 10:35 AM

You maximized the situation. I had not even noticed the edge of the right tree. Exposure looks right on and the eye rendering is great. Well done.

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

Comment posted by Ed Williams on September 26, 2016 at 10:45 AM

Nice exposure Jerry. Great look at her eyes and good work with the tight spaces afforded you.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on September 30, 2016 at 2:09 PM

Jerry, the clear look at most of her is very good. You've got a fine look at her eyes and good detail in both her and the surrounding.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments