Reflective moment

Gallery: WildlifePosted March 30, 2011291 views11 comments

There was a lot of publicity around a few polar bears and a whale carcass a while back and many have shown the more 'adult' bears standing on it, feeding. But for me, the real struggle in this location was this bear.

Know to us as 'Minnie', she was an 18 month orphan polar bear, half the size of bears her age and has had NO help to the ways of survival. Minnie has become a 'tough little cookie', learning to stand her ground with bears her age and older. If the whale carcass had not been around her fight for survival would have ended very quickly. But fate seems to have turned for the better and the bears located in this area were tolerant and well fed.

The shot was taken whilst she was feeding on a few scraps, however I felt it was as if she was captivated by her own reflect?

Steve

Location: Svalbard
MKIII 300f/2.8 f/6.3 ISO400 (FF, HH from a zodiac)

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Matthew Goldsmith on March 30, 2011 at 10:31 AM

Beautiful image Stephen. I love the reflection and the detail in the fur.

Registered on June 29, 2010, 37 Posts, 286 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Marcellini on March 30, 2011 at 11:09 AM

Great back-story and yes a very interesting and engaging pose. The whale carcass being brighter than her steal my eye a bit.

Registered on November 27, 2007, 250 Posts, 2468 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on March 30, 2011 at 11:34 AM

Special! I really appreciate the many subtle angles and zones of light and dark contributing to a wonderfully engaging composition.

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

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on March 30, 2011 at 4:52 PM

Excellent detail that really shows well in the larger version. The comp with the reflection is very nice. Thanks for sharing the story behind the image.

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

Comment posted by Ken Archer on March 30, 2011 at 6:14 PM

Sweet photo Stephen

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Canuel on March 31, 2011 at 12:03 AM

Hey Steve,
I like the soft color and light of this one. Hearing the background story of this little cub, I can't help but think that maybe she was just looking for a friendly face. Certainly evokes more than it describes for me

Registered on September 12, 2010, 53 Posts, 660 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on March 31, 2011 at 1:29 AM

The story behind the image makes it all the more compelling, another wonderful photo and thanks for sharing it Steve :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on March 31, 2011 at 9:58 AM

engaging photo here Steve
bear is nicely exposed and I like the behaviour. I see Paul's point about the whale carcass, should be easy to tone down selectively

I also quite like the rocky backdrop.

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on March 31, 2011 at 11:43 AM

Hey Steve,

The reflection and focus of the bear add a lot to this image - nice! I like the inclusion of a bit of whale carcass but can see Paul's point about toning it down a little (for me it's just the lower, brighter portion that needs tweaking). Techs look very good and I like the exposure/processing.

A minor (but easily dealt with) nit that doesn't detract much at all from the image - the offset of the reflection says "off-level" - looks about 2-3˚ CCW to me.

Thanks for sharing this image (and story) - very engaging...cheers...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Sandipan Dutta on March 31, 2011 at 12:30 PM

Appreciate your idea of including the reflection in the frame .... Technically a perfect shot too.

Registered on March 9, 2009, 171 Posts, 493 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on April 1, 2011 at 5:47 PM

Interesting story and excellent photograph, I hope Minnie will make it and survive. I like the vertical composition showing the bear and reflection with just a hint of the whale showing. Very nice detail on the larger image, nice job in getting this from a zodiac, well done, a pleasure to view.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments