Spirit of the Rain Forest

[MikePDX]

I recently was lucky enough to spend some time in the Great Bear Rain Forest of British Columbia. I was even luckier to capture several shots of this elusive Spirit Bear.

Comments encouraged.

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[NorthernFocus]

Very cool shot. It really showcases the unique fur color.

BTW a little known fact is that polar bears have black skin beneath the white fur.

 

[Mark Hauser]

A really beautiful picture.
It's very interesting. I hadn't known about these bears until now.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

 

[ssheipel]

Lovely shot; intimate composition (like we're getting to look in on her day).

 

[Woody Meristem]

Very nice. It's too contrasty for me, but the subject and composition are great. Think about brightening the shadows and reducing the contrast.

 

[MikePDX]

Very nice. It's too contrasty for me, but the subject and composition are great. Think about brightening the shadows and reducing the contrast.

Good to know. I purposefully kept the shadows dark to maintain the feel of the deep rain forest. But maybe I over did it. I'll look at lifting them a bit.

 

[Charles Loy]

I see serious hot, blown out areas on the bear front leg and elsewhere.
Unique animal, exciting find for you.

 

[MikePDX]

I see serious hot, blown out areas on the bear front leg and elsewhere.

You're right about that. When I look close, I see it now, too. I didn't catch it because it wasn't in the original RAW file. I think it showed up after a trip through Topaz Denoise. One more thing to fix.

Thanks,
-Mike

 

[Winston Churchill (Sir)]

Very nice capture. I think you did well and it shows the environment nicely too
It isn't a fine art photo - and not meant to be one - therefor I look at it for what it is meant to be. The subject matter is very strong - that makes the rest takes second place in my book. There is just enough yellow in the leaves, I love it. I would have loved to see some eye contact - but in this kind of photo - for me personally, with little tweaks here and there - I like it as is.

 

[Lance B]

Wonderful shot!

 

[Charles Loy]

LOL, I would have cleared my throat, maybe it would have look up - very interesting for sure

 

[Wes Peterson]

Bears arm is a little hot and I think I would have went with a landscape orientation to try and get the most out of the angled log and get the bear out of dead center, the veg above the bear is a little hot too and takes up a lot of the frame. Lots of potential in that shot.

 

[MikePDX]

Thanks everybody for your comments. I found them most helpful. Here is a second attempt using your feedback.

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[Wes Peterson]

Thanks everybody for your comments. I found them most helpful. Here is a second attempt using your feedback.

View attachment 72222

much better with the arm brought down.

 

[frdjohns]

The first image was fine, but the second is an improvement. What a great experience that must have been.