The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below.
Feedback Focus: Artistic / Expressive
About This Image
I captured these images on a recent trip to Lake Clark National Park. It was by far one of my most fruitful photography journeys in recent memory and I couldn’t be happier with the images I was able to create.
Feedback Requested
I would just like to know what your overall impressions are of these images. I’ve been practicing photographing wildlife in the vertical orientation to simplify the framing and make the creatures the central focal point.
Hi Matthew - they all have appeal - but to my eye, who doesn’t take many pics of wild animals , the composition of the last (4th) one is special…the OOF background is perfect and the bear is placed wonderfully in the frame
I can see why you were happy with the results, Matthew. They’re all good. I also prefer the last one, partly because the colors work well and partly because the background is very appealing.
My only suggestion would be to crop out some of the bottom of the first image. I’d leave only a small space beneath the bear’s feet.
Wow Matthew , a series of great shots! The first two I really like. To my eye maybe a bit more room on the top of frame, maybe lighten up around the eyes a bit. The third one I might consider giving a bit more room to the right and below. Really like the last one, great image.
What a beautiful place Lake Clark and it looks like Chinitna Bay.
Hi Matthew, really like this series showing off the power, grace, and enormity of these creatures. The settings and background look fabulous also. I could see more space added on the right in the third photo and a slight crop from bottom in the first. I think the last image is my favorite - really showing off the bear and surroundings with a foggy look.
They are all wonderful photographs. But the second photo is just riveting. I would not change anything about it. The darker eyes really convey the ominous raw power of the bear. It puts a proper amount of fear in the heart and makes you realize we are not the apex predator on this planet.
I think the use of your foregrounds is a mixed bag. Specifically, in the first two images: in #1, the extra foreground doesn’t work for me, while I think it’s a perfect fit for #2. And this comes down to the bears’ individual poses. In the first photo, it’s got an upright pose (and is “spotlit” from above), while in the second, everything about the hefty subject is pointing and drawing our eye downward.
In #3 I think the subject’s sort of in No Man’s Land, and the pose here doesn’t lend itself as well to a vertical comp (though I’m not a fan of added gradients, the one here actually helps in that it almost makes the bottom disappear into the page… which gives the illusion that there isn’t as much empty space below. And if that’s the case, perhaps it suggests cropping the bottom or finding a more standard horizontal presentation.)
I think #4 is composed and weighted perfectly. Nice layers in the background fill the space above the bear and it’s all very nicely proportioned.
What a trip! And great shots. The 4th shot is wonderful. I have nothing to add that would make a better picture. And it is a wonderful capture. On the 1st and 2nd, I find the large amount of foreground to be interesting and too much so. I get distracted from the bear in each picture. On the 3rd shot I don’t think the vertical works. The animal looks pinned in and cramped with no room to move. On your other shots there is lots of space to move, which I appreciate.
Lovely series, Matthew. You asked for overall impression so here are mine, in order.
There is some dynamic going on here, and my first thought is that I am not sure how to interpret it. It’s obviously mid movement but I can’t quite decide what it communicates. It looks playful to me. Or it could just be taking a step. And it’s looking at something or someone in the distance so my eyes are drifting out of the image. Because of the direction the bear is looking, none of the foreground matters to me, other than telling me you were low on the ground and below eye level which makes the subject look large, which is good. So long story short, it’s an ambiguous one for me, and if you have an original file that has way more space around it I may crop differently for effect. Or look for a pose right before or after that is a bit clearer in what it communicates. I am not one to follow rules much myself, but leaving space in the direction of a gaze or implied movement often works, and the space on the opposite site becomes dead space that doesn’t contribute to the story. Meaning I would likely put the bear closer to the right edge… etc.
Great, I am about to be run over by a massive bear. So the framing works for me for the most part, but as suggested above a tighter crop could work better. I wouldn’t go as bright as Timothy in the edit, it but the face does need a lift, especially around the eyes. And here is the thing. The story here is about the eye contact for me, and secondarily about the paw, and both of those would make a bigger impression on me with a dramatically different crop. Something like this, which preserves to me everything that I care about in the image but enhances the impact. Plus, having the viewer complete the animal in their mind engages the brain, and brains need to stay busy… That being said, you may hate it, which is perfectly fine. There are so many directions an edit can go, very subjective and a matter of individual taste. Also fun!
The crop doesn’t work for me here, it seems too tight. The bear has no space. There seems to be a nice landscape behind it, which we are denied. The smaller focal length does make for a more natural depth of field, I feel more in the scene, as if I was there, but unless I have tunnel vision I would have taken in so much more than this, and that is what I want from this image. Very demanding, I know.
Agree with others that this is a great shot, excellent composition, good layering… no need to repeat everything that was already said. I wish I could see the eyes a bit more clearly, but it’s part of the mystic impression perhaps; you could play with it and see if it still looks natural with a slight lift to the very dark rings around the eyes, just enough so you can see the eyes a tad more clearly.
I love the first image. You don’t often see photos of bears with flowing hair, and the spittle/spray coming from the mouth is the cherry on the top. I went to Lake Clarke last year, and swear I’ve been spoiled. Went to Tweedsmuir National Park and Kutazymazeen Grizzly Sanctuary but only saw a couple of bears on those trips. In Alaska, the bears are so prolific and so accustomed to photographers that you can take your time getting a good composition.
