Fun with Grizzlies

[Brownbear]

I've been photographing my bears, and below is an image that I adore for the super cute factor.

Processed in LR to increase the vibrancy, sharpen, decreased the highlights a tad and warmed up the WB a tad, and increased the saturation of the greens.


SS 1/1250 f/4 ISO 250 Focal length 300 mm



I would appreciate advice on cropping because it is so centered but I'm reluctant to crop the pretty grass on one side, and the sense of the more of the bear on the other side.

Any thoughts on the bears tongue?

And a new thing that I've recently learned is that green grass often creates a green colour cast on the bears especially if sunlight is shining on them. Is there a way to eliminate such colour casts?

Thank you.

[NorthernFocus]

Hi, Christina. I was wondering when we'd be treated so some bear photos rendered with your much improved skill set. Looks like you had some nice filtered light to shoot with. And made good use of it.

I like the crop as is. If I was going to change the crop at all it would be to keep the bear centered and crop to 4x5 format equally off either side. That would reduce the amount of grass. The bear's body is already clipped so it wouldn't matter that way. That is a goofy look he was wearing there.

Regarding the green cast on the fur, there are a couple of ways to deal with it. In LR you're somewhat limited without disturbing the color in the grass. You could use the selection brush and then use the WB adjustment to tweak the tone towards the red side. In PS you could mask in a color adjustment layer and simply de-saturate the green. What I would do myself is not worry about it because it looks pretty good as is

[ajsmith]

Christina,

Nice photo. I think what Dan said about the crop might look nice, more of a square crop with a little taken off both sides.

[Bobobird]

Fine image. I think it looks fine as is but the crop suggestions are worth looking into.

Green cast - happens all the time but like Dan says - nothing to worry about in your case. I get them on the white parts of birds all the time just desat the part that may be a problem.

[Nicks Pics]

Great image quality. I wouldn't crop it down any because I like the atmosphere that a broader scene gives, while still being a close-up, like you did here.

May I ask how you got this shot? Animals can be hard to find/get close too.

[John 2]

The bear almost has the classic Quasimodo look - one eye closed and its tongue hanging out. If you need to crop at all, a slight crop from the LHS would suffice for me but quite honestly, it is very nice as it is. Lovely image Christina.

[deetheturk]

+1 to Dan's comments Christina, lovely capture!

[bnnrcn]

It looks very bear , I wouldn't change a thing, very nice Christina

[Shadowman]

Nicely done, I think the crop is fine as is.

[Steve S]

Color casts are global. To correct a green cast, add some magenta. This image needs a little cyan and magenta.

[Brownbear]

Hi Dan,

I've been out photographing my bears a few times but I'm trying to learn so many new things that I'm trying to prioritize what I post but I think people appreciate seeing these beauties up close so I will share some more. I'm still trying to capture that shot with the bear dripping water but the light is so difficult. One day!

Thank you for advising on the crop. I never would've thought of cropping it that way and keeping it centered. So now I need to learn why centered works sometimes and not other times. And thank you for letting me know how to fix a colour cast. It is not so bad in this image but it is really something else in another image I have that also has other issues. I will try and fix it and post it in another thread. It likely needs to go to the trash bin but I'm sure I'll learn something from it.

Here is the edit... I fixed the colour cast in Photoshop adding cyan as suggested by Steve. It seems odd that the colour sliders go in the opposite direction that one might think intuitively!



PS While out hiking this morning I just missed seeing a black bear! I met a man on the trail who asked me if I'd seen the bear. Alas I missed him/her by just minutes. One day...

Hi, Christina. I was wondering when we'd be treated so some bear photos rendered with your much improved skill set. Looks like you had some nice filtered light to shoot with. And made good use of it.

I like the crop as is. If I was going to change the crop at all it would be to keep the bear centered and crop to 4x5 format equally off either side. That would reduce the amount of grass. The bear's body is already clipped so it wouldn't matter that way. That is a goofy look he was wearing there.

Regarding the green cast on the fur, there are a couple of ways to deal with it. In LR you're somewhat limited without disturbing the color in the grass. You could use the selection brush and then use the WB adjustment to tweak the tone towards the red side. In PS you could mask in a color adjustment layer and simply de-saturate the green. What I would do myself is not worry about it because it looks pretty good as is

[Brownbear]

Color casts are global. To correct a green cast, add some magenta. This image needs a little cyan and magenta.

Thank you for sharing. How do you know just by looking at an image that it needs a little cyan. I assume you just know like everyone else to add magenta to fix a green cast, but where does the magenta come in and how do you learn to see such things?

[Brownbear]

Thank you Bobo, Ali, Nicks Pics, John 2, David, Binnur, John (Shadowman), Steve and Dan.

It is very helpful to hear everyone's thoughts the feedback on the centered composition, cropping and for teaching me how to fix a colour cast. Truly appreciated.

David... Quasimodo is a wonderful descriptor! Their tongues seem to be grey rather than pink!

Nicks Pics... My apologies I forgot that not everyone knows where I photograph these bears. It is at a Grizzly Bear sanctuary on Grouse Mountain. They were orphaned as cubs, habituated to people and couldn't be returned to the wild. They have five acres on the mountain so the scenery consists of forest, streams, really a lovely habitat, well not as wonderful as being free but (:. It is surrounded by a wooden fence and also a wire fence. I wait for them to appear in the best backgrounds, (to avoid the capturing the fence). I stand on the wooden fence and aim my lens through the wire opening in the fence. I end up trashing lots of images because if I can't hold my camera still enough you can see the blurred fence marks on the bears.

It's an opportunity to practice my photography so I'm ready for my first wild bear.

[Brownbear]

Thank you David... Truly appreciated. I missed thanking you in my first reply.

+1 to Dan's comments Christina, lovely capture!

[Steve S]

Thank you for sharing. How do you know just by looking at an image that it needs a little cyan. I assume you just know like everyone else to add magenta to fix a green cast, but where does the magenta come in and how do you learn to see such things?

Cyan fixes a red cast not green........magenta fixes a green cast................you adjusted the red a little , now lets see it with both adjusted.(your image needed both cyan and magenta)


Opposite of red is cyan

Opposite of green is magenta

Opposite of blue is yellow



How can I tell what it needs.................the histograms.

[Brownbear]

Here are a couple of other shots that I'm sharing just for fun... I know that I have to fit the bears in the image and that I have some colour issues. Later this summer I will share some more shots, hopefully improved.

1.




Play time...

2.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Steve. Truly appreciated and I will read up on this subject.

Here is another try. I think that it is still not quite right because the green grass seems a little blah?

Cyan fixes a red cast not green........magenta fixes a green cast................you adjusted the red a little , now lets see it with both adjusted.(your image needed both cyan and magenta)


Opposite of red is cyan

Opposite of green is magenta

Opposite of blue is yellow



How can I tell what it needs.................the histograms.

[Steve S]

How's this................................

[Brownbear]

WoW! Thank you Steve. I will try this tomorrow when I have more time. I sure hope I can manage something like this. I love the frame, and the title!

How's this................................

[Nicks Pics]

Yes, I think adding contrast and making the color more vibrant with the vibrance and/or saturation slider can really make a picture look real (if the photo can take those adjustments without blowing highlights etc.). Sometimes it's hard to tell how dull the image is, compared to the real sight, till you brighten it up; however, especially with the color enhancements these adjustments can be easily overdone. Just in my not very experienced opinion, I would try something towards Steve's edition, just watching out for shadow clipping and over-saturated colors. Light Room, as you may know, has a handy feature for avoiding detail loss in shadows and highlights. You just hold the alt, or opt, key while adjusting those highlights/shadows.

Another thing to consider is that getting the correct white balance can help bring out real colors; however that needs to be done carefully too, because color, contrast, and especially white balance could make a cloudy scene look sunny, or reverse. this picture may have been taken in softer light than #1 of your last three grizzlies, for example, the appearance of which should be preserved.