Have you ever seen a Golden Bear? Check out the following Polar Bear with sunset lighting in its back. It gives him a very nice rim of light around its body, while maintaining some detail on its fur.
Polar Bear bathed with back-lit sunset light – Seal River, Churchill Area, Hudson Bay, Canada.
ISO 400 | f/4 | 1/1600 sec. | Manual mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens (Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM review) coupled with the 1.4x extender, the Canon EOS 5D mark III handheld while sitting on the ground.
I love the effect of the golden light bathing this bear while he is walking towards us. The bear looks like a magical creature coming out of a heroic fantasy book. I am very glad I had the chance to create a photograph of the bear walking towards us during the scene. It really gives life to this image. From an image optimization standpoint, I tuned down the white balance a bit, making the image a bit less yellow. I also applied Detailed Extractor filter from NIK software to bring out some of the fur detail, which had been a bit overpowered by the sunset light. The rim of light or ring of fire around the body really add a dramatic effect to the overall. That type of impact can only be created when your subject is back-lit, which is usually not an ideal situation, but can render stunning results when mastered properly.
Polar Bear waving while standing – Seal River, Churchill Area, Hudson Bay, Canada.
ISO 400 | f/4 | 1/800 sec. | Manual mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens (Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM review) coupled with the 1.4x extender, the Canon EOS 5D mark III handheld while standing.
What do you think this Polar Bear is doing when standing like this?
Not only is the bear standing, but he was actually waving with his left arm. That photograph was created towards the end of this specific afternoon shoot, so I am left to believe it was a goodbye wave for the day.
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Steven
markshimazuphotography
Steven Blandin