A meal for one

Steve,

This is stunner. That must have been quite an experience to witness. I really like the look and feel of the shot which shows nature in all of its splendor. The ice flo background is perfect. Since the gull is cut off I would remove it but that is just my opinion.

Rick

Hi Steve!
Great exposure n details here! The kill adds lots of color to the image.
I wouldn't mind the gull, if it was full, but half gull, I may prefer to clone out.
Jagdeep Rajput

Nice one, Stephen. The kill adds a bonus splash(pun intended) of color. Techs are spot on and I like the lines of the bear.

A terrific image Stephen, very engaging and powerful. Nice fine detail and overall the comp works well for me. Thanks for sharing this beauty.
Bye the way, where was this polar bear observed?

That sounds like a very interesting trip, especially since you were on a 1953 icebreaker. I like the fur detail and sharpness on the larger image, great job of handling the snow/ice pack brightness and the good directional light really gives a nice contrast on the polar bear. I go back and forth on the gull, however an excellent shot, well done.

Steve, great shot !! excellent sense of place as well as interesting behaviour and wonderful light, what an amazing animal to see out in the wild, thanks for sharing, cheers, Stu

Top marks on this capture. The technicals are all excellent and the detail beautiful. The gull doesn't distract in the least so I would leave it as part of the story.

Wow! What an amazing experience that must have been to be there and see this. Great capture Steve and wonderful lighting cast on the subject :^)

What a striking image, Steve! The bright red colour in the surrounding white is simply rivetting! I would have preferred the whole gull, but there is enough here to show the intent in the opportunistic bird. My, but you are lucky; 45 bears in two weeks did you say? Wow!

Hey Steve,

As the others have said - powerful image. The rich red colour of the carcass certainly draws one's attention (initially) - and I found myself lingering on the view of the paw/fin. Sharpness on the subject is really good (and NOT overdone! ). Regarding the gull - given its small size and reasonably neutral colours (especially compared to carcass) I'm reasonably indifferent to it - I don't think it adds too much to the image (in terms of storytelling), but it isn't much of a distraction either. Of course, in a perfect world I'd prefer to see the entire gull (and wish it wasn't clipped), but not a big deal. To me it's on par with the snow lump in the foreground obscuring a small portion of the carcass - very minor distractions at worst that have hardly any impact on this powerful shot!

Cheers...thanks for sharing this...

Brad

Thanks everyone, very much appreciate the feedback, as sometimes I feel we can isolated in our own work/world.

Jim H, yes the ship was full of history with character and still contained some old features, comfy, yet homely with few on board.

Ajit, yes we were fortunate, although it was at all times of the day and the light was almost 24hrs, but not always ideal. A good time to occasionally just sit & watch.

Brad, what can I say

Steve

No one can say this is not an eye grabber! I like the tendril of tissue going to the bear's bloody snout. For me the gull is a non issue. I appreciate the fortuitous angled slab of ice on the bottom left which helps direct the eye and I love the fact that you have the ice floe in the background,yet maintained a sliver water separating it from the bear's back. Great capture.