The Stare.....

Gallery: WildlifePosted September 22, 2014286 views11 comments

Just returned from a great trip to Alaska. Lots of bears around with cubs. It was an amazing experience to be this close to a wild animal.

Please check my blog for more bear images http://www.edwinkatsphotography.com/en/blog.html

Nikon D4 and Nikon 500/4

Edwin kats

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Ronald Murphy on September 22, 2014 at 1:41 PM

What a great photo! If I was forced to whine about something, I would like to see the end of the nose in focus too, but no one is forcing me.

Registered on March 13, 2012, 279 Posts, 975 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen Kaluski on September 22, 2014 at 4:54 PM

Hi Ed, it's a neat place to shoot, looks like you had fun, cracking image.

It's unbelievable how close you can get with these guys. Look forward to seeing more, all the best matey.

Hope life is good.

TFS
Steve

Registered on March 25, 2007, 189 Posts, 1064 Comments

Comment posted by Thomas Haney on September 22, 2014 at 4:59 PM

What a perfect portrait Edwin, I love the detail in the fur. I really like it cropped up from the bottom to nearly square also.

Registered on April 7, 2013, 138 Posts, 537 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Cross on September 22, 2014 at 8:00 PM

Even with a 500mm you had to be pretty close. It gave you a wonderful image. A real keeper. Wide eyed to say the least. Beautiful detail in the fur both in terms of sharpness as well as colors. And I see you have the horizon reflected in each eye horizontal! Definitely a keeper.

Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on September 23, 2014 at 8:58 AM

Hi Edwin,

Nice to see you in here posting again! I hope you've been doing well.

Overall this is a nice "up close and personal" portrait - for me the overall symmetry and strength of the stare are the highlights of this one.

You might know I've photographed a bear or two in my time...and for ME (and don't forget I'm anal) one of the key criteria is that sharpness extends from tip of nose to slightly behind the eyes. So...the soft nose here is a bit of a negative for me (but probably not for many others). In this situations I always pick a focus point 1/2 way between eyes and tip of nose (and choose an aperture which produces a DoF including eyes and tip of nose - assuming lens in use is long enough to have a 50:50 front-back distribution of DoF...and a 500 certainly is).

Really looking forward to seeing more from your trip...

Cheers...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on September 23, 2014 at 10:14 PM

I agree that an in focus noise would have made this a stronger image, but in no way is it a deal breaker. Love the eyes.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on September 24, 2014 at 12:03 AM

That's quite a portrait. I agree it would be nice to have the nose sharper, but it's still a fine shot. Your blog post doesn't sy where you were. Was it Pak Creek?

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on September 24, 2014 at 1:10 AM

And what an amazing stare that is! Love this image! I can't wait to go back to Alaska one day.

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on September 25, 2014 at 12:29 AM

Fine portrait, Edwin. I love the symmetry here.

Max

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

Comment posted by David Bogener on September 25, 2014 at 5:07 PM

Outstanding image. I really like the composition, nothing but bear. Amazing eye contact. Thanks for posting, Dave

Registered on October 30, 2013, 417 Posts, 1255 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on September 26, 2014 at 8:06 PM

Choice of framing is wonderful and this has great effect. I agree with Brad that the out of focus nose is a slight pull down, to my eye. Still, I bet this would be well received for many applications!

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