Snowy Bull

Gallery: WildlifePosted July 26, 2011298 views5 comments

Spent some quality time with this bull last November, but I had a really hard time exposing that dark brown fur correctly against the bright snow. Having recently relocated from Colorado to Alaska, I bet I'll have plenty of opportunity to perfect it this winter...

As always, comments & suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Arapaho National Forest, Colorado
Sony A200
Sony 70-300 @ 230mm
1/500 sec @ f5.6
iso 200

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Anand Narayanan on July 27, 2011 at 1:44 AM

Sweet set of antlers ! Difficult exposure for sure, but i think you pulled it off. There appears to be good detail on the eye and spine but its difficult to be sure viewing at this size. Irrespective of that, its a really pretty winter scene

Congrats on you move up north !

Registered on October 25, 2009, 110 Posts, 835 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on July 27, 2011 at 11:09 AM

Yeah, this is a tough one. Obviously it would be nice to get a little more detail in the shadows. The pose and setting are great though. This is a really nice-sized bull... I actually thought it was an Alaska moose at first, since they get some real monsters up there.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on July 27, 2011 at 2:02 PM

I love the dynamic pose with uplifted foreleg! The light on the antlers is striking, too. Your exposure for the snow looks excellent. I think the pose is strong enough to warrant your taking time to selectively process to pull as much brightness and detail from the body of the moose as possible.

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

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on July 28, 2011 at 2:25 PM

What an impressive 'headset'! I like the habitat scene as such Guy, but do find the big tree just behind the moose a bit unfortunate. IF only the BG were mirrored

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Hayden on August 11, 2011 at 1:24 AM

Gary,
Working with this kind of image is frustrating because you have the dark moose and bright snow. In addition, you have the environment the animal chose to be in. In this case, he has chosen to allow the sun to catch his antlers, but the sun also highlights the snow-covered conifer branches in the background. To my eye, the background competes a little too much. Some separation and isolation of the subject in this case would make the shot a keeper.

Registered on November 21, 2009, 41 Posts, 201 Comments