Kananaskis Grizzly + REPOST

Hi Jenaya. I prefer the first version, although I might darken the background behind the bear a little so it doesn't draw the eye quite as much. Feels a bit tight above the bear, but that's a matter of personal taste. A fine looking bear, the purple vetch in the mouth is a nice bonus.

I agree with Gary. The bear is awesome, but it needs a little breathing room.

Both versions look good although i have a slight preference for the first one. Great low perspective. The head area is really engaging with its symmetry, catchlight and that contrasting green mouthful.

W W!!! 70-210mm lens, that's amazing. I'm wondering if he looks like he might be tired of feasting on salad?

Great view of this handsome bear Jenaya!!! Excellent eye contact and fur detail, he almost looks freshly groomed. I like the up-close and personal look, but I think it could use more room up top too. Excellent work in the field and in photo-shop.

Ken Archer

Love the low angle and wonderfully detailed eye-contact Jenaya :^)

Also agree on darkening the BG some.

I too prefer the original crop Jenaya, though even that one might be a tad tight at the bottom given the hidden legs.
Nice soft light and good details considering the crop and the lens used. Good job on removing the tags too!

Hi Jenaya,

What follows is PURELY personal preference - definitely not a right-wrong thing...ultimately the person you have to please the most is yourself!

I prefer the first version - to me the second version looks "clipped" - meaning that whenever I see an image where only a very small portion of the subject is cut off (in this case the back end of the bear) it looks like an error to me. But, even the first image is definitely tighter than I like. It's my opinion (and definitely NOT fact! ) that when the subject almost fills the frame (like in your original shot) it leaves the photographer with very few compositional options and the image - even if technically strong - becomes simply a picture "of a" XXX (fill in any species you want) - as opposed to wildlife art. With my own photography (and during my workshops and seminars) I generally stress that one should make an active decision about how dominant a subject should be in a frame - either back off and include the animal in its environment (your dad's shot of the coyote in the forest - "On the Hunt" - is a great example of how to do this right!!) OR move in really tight. To me the "just filling the frame" option/crop can actually reduce the impact of the image and is - to my twisted way of thinking - a bit of a danger zone to avoid. Of course, this is all being said without having any clue at all how the area OUTSIDE of your original post looks - it COULD be that your original crop is the best possible crop (and excludes power lines, or signs saying "Welcome to Peter Lougheed Provincial Park" ! But just some food for thought for you...

Anyway - very cool that you have captured some compelling images of wild grizzlies...and it's always fun for me to see what you've found and photographed! Keep up the good work...

Cheers...

Brad

Hi everyone and thanks! I was so excited to finally get some decent grizzly pictures!

Ken - I know! My dad said that who would have thought I had the RIGHT lens at 70-210 for a close-up of a grizzly? We go back and forth between using his 70-210 f/2.8 and 300mm f/4 and he ended up not being able to fit the bear in the frame without cropping! Just to be sure everyone knows, these were beanbag mounted from the truck window.

I re-cropped the image but did not do any work to tone down the highlights in the background on the larger view. This version is 75.6% of original full-frame.

Oh yeah - we also noticed that SOMEHOW we cloned in some shadow area onto the bear's head above his left eye on the original post! That is corrected here (so just in case you noticed, we didn't clone out the dark spot, we removed the accidental cloning!)

Thanks again for all your comments and suggestions!

Hey Jenaya,

Definitely like the re-post (3rd crop) the best - by a wide margin. Inclusion of pine on the right - while a subtle change - adds some much needed "habitat context/information" that I think significantly improves the image. Would I like it even better if those specular highlights could be toned down in the background - yes. But even if that can't be done it's definitely my favourite of the 3.

Cheers...

Brad

I prefer the first version as well as the second is just a little tight. Must have been so exciting to find these creatures in the wild and shoot them at just 200mm. The vegetation sticking out of the mouth makes this image that much more special.

Hi Jenaya,

Your third post definitely does it for me! Well done with a really good looking Grizzly. I know there is a lively debate about cloning but I personally don't mind showing animals that have "jewelry" on them because that usually tells a story somehow. There is a very famous female Grizzly in Grand Teton NP (399) that is one of the most photographed bears in the Yellowstone area and she has quite an amazing life story once you know it's her. If the number on the tag in your original is legible, you might be able to get some information on this bear from the responsible wildlife agency. Well done and thanks for sharing!