Polar bear in landscape

[JP Onstwedder]

Shot a few years ago in Svalbard. I opted for a rather dramatic panoramic crop - curious what everyone thinks of it!

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[Woody Meristem]

Great shot, but I'd probably have moved the camera to the left so the bear wasn't in the center of the image but walking into it. In any case, it's a neat photo showing the bleak landscape in which polar bears live.

 

[Bill Schone]

That is a nice shot!

 

[DripDryMcFleye]

I like it!

 

[frdjohns]

I have to agree with Woody above. It's a beautiful shot, but I'd like to see the bear less centered.

 

[jeffnles1]

I like it a lot. Fact is, the longer I'm in the nature / wildlife photography game the more I am drawn to "environmental" shots in my own work. I love the portrait close up, but I also like the sense of place showing where the creature lives. I like your photo here, it does give that sense of place. Also, most of us know a polar bear is big. Even if we've never seen one in person or outside of a zoo, we have a basic idea that they are big creatures. Your photo shows that even a large creature like a polar bear is dwarfed by the scale of his environment. I really like the story this photo shows,

 

[FB101]

Panoramic framing like this one is very powerful and in your case works well to show the bear in its environment - but like others I'd like to see the bear less centered, and explore a bit more height (not much) to see how those rocks look at the top edge of the frame and are currently cut-off. It might allow to continue that rock diagonal at the very top that is interrupted (or not, depending on what's above).

 

[JP Onstwedder]

Thank you to everyone for your kind and helpful comments! Below is a different shot: same bear, a few minutes earlier. The bear is a little harder to spot in this image which is one reason I preferred the first image I posted. The other reason is that with the tops of the mountains and the sky visible in the second image, I feel the picture loses a little bit of the mystery just how big the landscape is.

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[Woody Meristem]

Just one man's opinion, but I much prefer the first image. The bear is so small in the second photograph that it's amost lost and a lot of viewers might not even notice it as they looked at the landscape

 

[Bill Schone]

Both outstanding, each tells its own story. Love ‘em both.

 

[DripDryMcFleye]

Agree that the first image is the better one. The color of the water in the foreground in the 1st photo is a significant feature that, IMO, adds a lot to the image.