This is mom to the cub I recently posted, and she has a second not shown. I’m guessing she’s an old grizzled veteran of cub rearing, and this is likely her last litter. She’s quite large for a female, but while most other bears are in full pelage now, she’s still wearing her summer coat. Nursing young appears to be taking its toll. She’s also staying away from rivers with lots of bears and people, perhaps the best sign of her veteran ranking.
I like soft light for portraits, both human and animal. Would you like to see more contrasty light, or does it work for you too?
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
For me this is an intimate portrait of an aging veteran. But I do tend to anthropomorphize! Does this image tell you a story?
Any pertinent technical details:
Shot from our truck under bright overcast at about 30 feet . I was using a D7200 with a Nikon 200-500 at 500. After a year to get familiar, I’m really liking this lens for sharpness, framing options and light weight (compared to the Nikon 200-400 f/4, that is!).
Hank! Haven’t heard from you in a coon’s age! welcome back!
I like the soft light very much, but you could try a touch of midtone darkening. I think the image does tell a story for those who know their way around bears. Your comment about the pelage helped me buy the story.
I like this. I do think her age shows through, too, and I like that. I like how her head is low, and down there where you can also see those long, white claws. Something about her life shows through in this image, and I think that’s the best kind of portrait. Oh yeah, I do like that soft light…
I appreciate your comments about the bear. Her eyes tell the story also. Just personal preference, I think I would like to see just a little more of the other front lag. Small nit.
Hank, I like how the soft light lets the details show. This is a great “portrait” as it shows her head very well along with some extras. I especially like those claws. There’s a series of arcs near the top that look like PS tool marks where you did some burning-in that didn’t get all the way to the frame.
Huh… Never touched the burn tool. Now that you point it out, I can see at least one. Must be some artifact from something else, maybe even OOF elements in the background. But about all I did to this was small adjustments in the RAW processor before opening the file and reducing. Grounds for study of the original RAW file and a revisit to the processing sequence. I appreciate the heads up!
Interesting “cultural” note on this trio: Talked to a neighbor last night and she ran into them across the road about 100 yards from our house on her return from walking her dog. Dog and bears “pretended” not so see each other, and both parties went their separate ways without incident. And quickly!
