Crescent River Bear

Gallery: WildlifePosted November 21, 2010212 views8 comments

Here's a photo from the 3rd and final place we visited on our September trip to Alaska. It's the Crescent River at the foot of Mt. Redoubt. It lies right on the border of Lake Clark NP and both the lake and upper mile or so of river below the lake outlet make for excellent bear viewing in August and September. As the sockeye salmon start dying the bears show up, patrolling the shoreline and snorkeling for dead and dying salmon in the shallows. This particular 2-year old showed up with his mother across the river from where we were having our shore lunch and it clearly caught wind of the fish on the grill. The lighting this day was the best of the week though it was still hit and miss. C&C very much appreciated, thanks for looking.

Canon EOS 7D, 100-400L IS @ 360mm
F5.6, 1/500 sec

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on November 21, 2010 at 2:07 PM

I think this is great. I like the composition with the logs, I like the water and I like the bear's fur. In the larger photo I can almost feel the fur. With the bear balanced on the log like that and sniffing the air you can feel the tension/action.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Walters on November 21, 2010 at 2:38 PM

Like the logs and the surrounding and the upturned head. Could use just a little sharpening.

Registered on October 30, 2005, 405 Posts, 3693 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on November 22, 2010 at 9:16 AM

Hi Joe,

Nice bear and a nice pose! Always fun to watch these guys when there's salmon around! If this image is already a crop (and you have room to work with it), I think it might be strengthened a little if you removed a little of the foreground water (maybe 1/2 of it) and added that much background on top. This would make the bear look a little less "dead-centered" (vertically) and ground it a little more. If the image were mine I'd also be tempted to pull back on the exposure on the water (and darken it somewhat), but that's purely a personal preference issue...

I'm in agreement that the bear looks a tad soft and a little selective sharpening here (I'd stay away from sharpening the logs or background) might improve the image.

Cheers...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Sally King on November 22, 2010 at 9:53 AM

Cool place to see this bear. I too would alter the comp a bit to take the bear out of center if possible and sharpen the bears face just a bit more. Cool image.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on November 22, 2010 at 11:13 AM

Nice pose! I like the log, Bear is standing on and the water. But logs at the back are bit distracting.
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by JACK NEAL on November 22, 2010 at 8:08 PM

Everythig has been said. This is one of my favorite bear poses. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 26, 2009, 131 Posts, 554 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on November 22, 2010 at 8:56 PM

Terrific moment captured, with a great pose. I like that the claws are nicely visible. You have already been offered some good ideas for technical tweaks, so won't repeat those.

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

Comment posted by Joe James on November 22, 2010 at 10:36 PM

Thanks everyone! Appreciate the advice and made a few adjustments. Hopefully this version is a bit better, what do you all think?

Registered on November 20, 2009, 89 Posts, 808 Comments