I finally had the opportunity to visit Alaska this summer to photograph the Brown Bears at Lake Clark. It was an awesome trip. This bear had stopped to take a rest after fishing. I just love the pose.
Any feedback is welcome. Is the photo too dark? I underexposed the shot and have brought it up but enough?
1/1000, f/8, ISO 400, 560mm handheld Canon 100-400 w/1.4x
Oh, I love it Terri. My first thought when I saw this was, “I pledge allegiance”! Just love that pose. The head turn is really a nice bonus. The exposure looks right on to me on my screen. I would sure love to get back to Alaska again. Didn’t have the know how or the equipment in to 2006, nor did a Brown Bear pose for me. Great shot. 
Terri: That pose is just too much. Hand over heart, all stand and recite the pledge. Very cool.
I think the exposure looks fine. Colors and tones look good. I don’t know what the crop was, but if this were mine, I’d have more room on the right side of the frame.
Great pose, details and I love the expressions !
I have never tried 1.4X with 100-400mm, but I’m very pleased with your results.
Agree with Keith’s idea about more room on the RHS to make it more rectangular.
Thanks for the kind words! Unfortunately I’d have to add canvas to give more room. With the 1.4x and center focus point, that’s the reason it was cropped to 4x5. When I took the shot I didn’t think to zoom out for more room.
Terri: you hav every good reason to love the pose of this bear. I really like seeing the bear in its environment in a relaxed position. Fine Techinicals. Richard
Terri, you have a fine image here - the exposure looks good, it is sharp, the subject is doing something interesting. However, if this were mine, I would remove that dark band that stretches across the top of the image, as also the orange-ish patch, the greenish patch, and some of the specular highlights. I would also darken the water in which the bear is sitting. If you agree, I might rework this fine image to make it (in my opinion) better 
A very special image you have here, indeed! The processing looks spot on to me. I would like to see more room on the right side, but I saw your comment stating none is available. I look forward to seeing more of your work!
Gorgeous shot, I love the pose! When you see a moment like that, you don’t have the time to zoom out or the moment is gone. When I click to see the large size, the photo seems a bit soft to me on the eyes, could the focus lie a bit behind (his back paw looks very sharp)? Or maybe this is because your upload was too small? Don’t know, otherwise I’d try a bit of extra sharpening on the head.
All the best,
Ingrid.
