Thanks everyone. I got a bit more yellow in the upper left. I like how it encircles the bear, creating a kind of golden vignette.
ML
Great setting and spectacular subject 
If I have to compose this image, I would like to balance the yellow shrubs on both side of the bear instead of placing the bear off center, something like the original version or like @Vance_Gese version.
Cheers !
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Thanks @JRajput. I keep going back and forth on that very issue. The head turn does change the overally effect.
AND Thanks for the EP!
ML
Hi
Revision 2 has made the bear a little smaller in the frame and added some dark sticks at the top near the ULC which to my eye reduces the impact of the yellow in the corner. I’m still a fan of revision 1
Crop is such a personal thing isn’t it!
this Nature photography is hard - always a balance of nice animal portrait with a nice environment to give context, and a more distant shot truly showing the environment with the animal relatively small in the frame.
Huw
Funny you mention that. Today I regrouped to 8x10 horizontal as suggested by @Vance_Gese. That’s my favorite today 
!
ML
You’re really killing it with your Alaska images. I really like revision 1 with the bear off center and moving into the image. Are you getting these photos from the park bus?
Thanks Michael.
There was no back country park bus this year or for the last several due to a landslide near polychrome pass. The park bus was limited to the front 42 miles.
I stayed at Camp Denali at the back of the park (flew in), and it has its own bus. As part of a photography workshop, we got the use of their bus with a whopping 8 people. As a result, each workshop participant had a full row (4 seats and the aisle) to themselves. We could make a leisurely drive out to the closure and back daily.
I think the road is reopening this spring, and park buses will again have the full length of road for access. I don’t know if those bus windows open or how long they stop,
This was a truly rare opportunity on a photography workshop with Dave Shaw, in which we flew in, stayed at Camp Denali, and had the use of their bus. It was pretty spectacular.
Staying at Camp Denali would potentially give you access to similar bus rides with wildlife viewing. You could call and ask what your options are. Maybe check with Dave Shaw Photography. I don’t know if he will be doing another workshop like this once the park road is fully reopened.
EDIT: Dave is doing a similar workshop next year, though there will be more traffic on the road. Still, not the park bus, so more opportunities
ML
This is gorgeous. I think Revision 2 is spot on in terms of balance. The swath of red cutting through the yellow provides a perfect way to bring focus to the bear. Colors are bold and look good… almost a tick too much magenta on my screen, but it works.
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Is Huw’s crop revision #1. If so that’s what I like although any are just fine with me. I prefer a crop that shows as much of face as possible. I don’t really care about rule of 3rds or any rule. If printing and framing the frame can be customized to fit whatever size print you give the framer. If just sharing electronically it still doesn’t matter 'cause the viewer can crop to whatever he or she wants. This day and age crop is pretty irrelevant. I’m just happy you got the image. Thanks for reading.
Regards
P. S. Marilynne, after more thought I think I would like a vertical crop because imo the vertical would make the bear stand out more as the subject and the image more of a portrait than as an environmental image. Plus, the bear’s stance really screams out vertical. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to recrop your image and repost. But I’m sure you know what I mean.
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Can’t think of anything else to lead with, except Wow! Great capture with such incredible detail and color. I think you are spot on with the colors and saturation. I like the crop in this latest version the best, it really helped compositionally to crop out some on the left. I wouldn’t change a thing! 
Very nice capture. I like the eye contact, and the cropping. There’s a little bit of an anxious element to this with it looking right at ya.
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The colors are what makes this image for me. Its puts it over the top.
The love keeps coming. Thanks everyone.
@Max_Waugh: Do you see a bit too much magenta on the bear’s face, or in the foliage? I can play with that.
ML
Marylynne, it was mainly the bear’s fur. For me it’s super subtle, something that probably doesn’t even demand attention, but at most would mean one or two ticks into toward Green at most.
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