Momma and Cubs

This is very nice, Jack.
I wish one of the oof foreground branches weren't so close to the cub, but it's really hard to pose these guys. I like the way the standing dead pine reflection closes out the framing of the bears.
Good shooting!
Neil

This would be a good thrill for me. Although those branches might crowd a little, it is pretty darn good how they chose to pose for you with feet on the log and the lake as a background! High fives, for that! This would have made my week and then some. What lens were you using? I wonder about the strength of the catchlight. It seems strong given the rest of the lighting. I really like the details of claws and texture. All faces are nicely posed and all sets of toes displayed! I like the compositional elements of the angled log, the diagonal reflection and the reflected tree. All in all, I say "Cool, really cool."

Jack, I get a thrill just looking at your image. It must have been incredibly exciting to see these three in person. Very nice catch!

This is utterly cute !I The precarious perch with water in the backdrop add drama to the frame.

Excellent to catch them all in good poses!
LOVE the yellowstone babies and sure wish I coul get there this year...alas..

Sandy r

Jack,

Very well done here. Your timing is perfect with all three of them perched on the dead branch. Great shot and great timing.

Thanks for all the kind comments! This was a high for me! Lon, as far as the catch light is concerned, I was very close to this family. The fl was 230. This is close to the last picture taken before we had to retreat!

Hi Jack,

Great 3-way pose (and these are always tough!) and very well exposed given the very tough lighting situation (especially in dealing with that bright water behind the bears). Your subjects are nicely sharp and I like the overall composition. I am wondering if you could carefully bring out a little more shadow detail on the subjects, especially on the lower portions of mom. If try this I'd recommend going easy - it would be quite easy to make the shot look quite unnatural by bringing out too much shadow detail. But overall, very well done...

Cheers...thanks for sharing this...

Brad

Jack, Let me first get this out of the way...the oof branch on the left is sort of a bummer, but not much you can do sometimes and I really wish it wasn't in your way...now that I have that out of the way...WOW! Love it! I would love to have this in my collection. I have still have NEVER seen a bear in the wild and I will be going to Yellowstone in a few short weeks so wish me luck. I can feel your excitement! I don't think I could have held my camera as still as you did to get them this sharp. Very nice job of grabbing the details on this. Love how they are standing on the log. Probably my favorite shot of yours.

Great moment with the little ones! Hard to imagine those cute little ones growing into the beasts they will become!

Lovely feel of the wild in this image, Jack. I like the way mom is stopping on the fallen tree to ascertain that everything is safe for her cubs and that she can now move on.

Great setting and very very interesting pose. You haven't mentioned the lens used here, just wish, you could use a longer lens.
Jagdeep Rajput

Ohh Man, your making miss Yellowstone even more now!!! What a great experience for you! And a sweet photo too

Ken Archer