Another shot from Katmai NP during my most recent workshop. We flew in via floatplane to a wilderness lake and brought with us a few rafts to float a section of river that was very popular with the bears. As we slowly floated, we stopped almost about every 150 yards because more bears would appear. We’d pause and photograph the bear doing what bears do and then resume our float for another couple minutes until another bear appeared. It seemed each day, we would see 40-70 different bears along this stretch of river. It was one of the most amazing years I’ve had up there!
For this shot, we were pulled over on the opposite side of the river from this bear. It was obvious that it was fishing as it would be scanning the water below and then all of a sudden, lunge off the bank hoping to drop on to an unsuspecting salmon. This particular spot was its favorite launching point, so I aligned myself so I could get a head-on viewpoint as it dove. Of the three dives I captured, this is one of my favorites, so I thought I’d share.
I know I don’t like that branch coming out of the back of the bear and I’ve tried to remove it, but haven’t been happy with the results so far. My goal is to have all the attention on the bear and de-accentuate the surrounding foliage as much as possible, while still looking natural.
Specific Feedback Requested
Really anything you feel like commenting on. Nothing specific.
Technical Details
Fujifilm X-T3
Fujinon XF100-400mm (shot at 196mm)
f/6.4 1/680 sec
A beautiful moment captured !
If you have some more canvas at the bottom, that would help.
While sharpening this image, if you selectively sharpen the bear only, without the grasses, that would give some additional separation, that may help.
Oh how great that sounds. A bit out of my comfort zone for sure, what with the camping (I assume there was camping involved, lol). Unusual look at a bear doing what bears do and I like that. The power in those shoulders and neck. Incredible. Did it succeed in getting a meal?
In terms of the bg, in addition to what Jagdeep suggests, you could try a little color cloning or add color action in Photoshop to make the tree more green. I don’t mean to match the grass, but to tint it a bit so it’s less noticeable. Not that it’s a big issue. The bear definitely overwhelms the scene with its presence.
Thank you @JRajput and @Kris_Smith . I appreciate your kind words and thoughts for further editing. I’ll give it a go and see if I can work to create a bit more separation…good suggestion!
Yes, it did get a meal. This time of year, the salmon are slow and half dead, so not hard to catch. @Kris_Smith , no camping involved! We fly in and out on same day, back to the lodge for warm meal and comfy beds.
Whoa, that’s a big bear! I like this shot a lot. The colors are beautiful and I like the pose of the bear. I agree with @JRajput that a little more image on the bottom would help. The sharp BG doesn’t bother me, but maybe a vignette would darken the greenery some and help direct the eye more to the bear. Great job!!
An extremely dynamic shot of this large Brown Bear, John! The large version is particularly nice because it has much more presence (makes you feel like you’re right there in person). Focus, exposure and color are all excellent also. I would recommend cropping this (from the top) into a 16x9 ratio which fill a standard 4K TV completely and the loss of some of the vegetation on top will put more focus on the bear. I concur with Jagdeep’s recommendation to selectively sharpen also. Congratulations on a successful Katmai experience!
I really like this image and how you have captured the decisive moment. I agree with the previous comments regarding sharpening. You could try to reduce the saturation of the bush to the right.
