The bear went over the mountain. . .

Gallery: WildlifePosted February 14, 20061,893 views10 comments

Canon 1DM2, 500mm F4.0 IS, 1/80, F13, +1/3, vehicle as a tripod

The sun was just coming over the mountain when I grabed this shot of a bear just as he was disappearing over a ridge in Denali National Park. Image was taken late in August of 2005, and that is already into the autumn season as evidenced by the foliage. This image was taken from a bus and you are always fighting the movement of people inside the vehicle.

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Alice Scoggins on February 14, 2006 at 10:15 AM

Nice backlighting, good shot!

Registered on February 21, 2005, 430 Posts, 5959 Comments

Comment posted by Juza on February 14, 2006 at 10:34 AM

Hi Jim,
I love the backlighting!

Registered on November 1, 2003, 374 Posts, 10466 Comments

Comment posted by Josh Anderson on February 14, 2006 at 10:51 AM

Jim,

I think I would have traded a larger aperture to get a faster shutter speed to make sure the image was sharp. However, the lighting is very nice. I would be very happy to have this image. Nice!

Registered on June 2, 2005, 493 Posts, 2996 Comments

Comment posted by Elizabeth Moon on February 14, 2006 at 12:20 PM

The quality of light in this shot is great...and I like the contrast between the foreground area in sharp focus and the softened background, showing the vast wilderness the bear's moving into. It definitely gives the feel of a remote chunk of territory. And the autumn red/orange in the right foreground is the perfect accent.

Elizabeth Moon
Texas

Registered on February 9, 2006, 21 Posts, 196 Comments

Comment posted by David Stokely on February 14, 2006 at 12:33 PM

What a wonderful picture. You can just imagine him continuing over that ridge and on into the wilderness. Very nice.

Registered on February 3, 2006, 71 Posts, 313 Comments

Comment posted by renae sandberg on February 14, 2006 at 2:57 PM

Great composition, I love the backlighting here. I love the fact we get a look into his routine and he is unaware or not caring that we're looking. Wonderful shot.

Registered on December 29, 2004, 313 Posts, 2476 Comments

Comment posted by Jasper Doest on February 14, 2006 at 3:21 PM

Jim, what a nice shot! It really tells a story. But IMO it would be much stronger if there was less empty space between the red foliage and the bear...Although the red foliage is a great accent in the shot I could imagine an even stronger story-telling-shot by cropping some of the bottom, just above the frontal vegetation and make it a panoramic. Just give it a try and keep both versions as they both look great!

Registered on November 1, 2003, 371 Posts, 2101 Comments

Comment posted by Jess Lee on February 14, 2006 at 5:50 PM

Nice job under trying conditions

Registered on November 1, 2003, 114 Posts, 929 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Benner on February 22, 2006 at 6:10 AM

Dramatic pose. Nice capture - congrats.

Registered on December 8, 2003, 482 Posts, 1868 Comments

Comment posted by David Kjaer on February 23, 2006 at 12:03 PM

Beautiful - well caught!

David

Registered on January 4, 2006, 128 Posts, 4170 Comments