Wildlife Photographyby
rayg544Comment by CEJ: Hello from the Critique Club!
I have studied your image and have the following to offer:
Composition/perspective - nice application of the rule of thirds in this image. A slightly different crop may have made this an even stronger image as well as an overall larger image - more square to bring the image closer to 640x640 instead of 640x480 (cropping more off the right hand side to eliminate some of the trees before resizing.) This would still allow the subject to be in good compositional position. The focus is clear in the image side to side as well as top to bottom - nice aperture control. Also, the exposure time is good. A little longer and the water would have become more prominent in the image as it would have taken on the 'dreamy' look. Any faster and the water would have become a static element. As it is it appears to be more of a 'right place, right time' as opposed to a set-up shot (too bad it is not a real bear).
Color - a lot of colors in the palette of this image. The overall tonal range seems fairly well preserved as evidenced by the shift from the browns and golds of the rocks in the water to the grays of the rocks on the edge; the black of the bear being solid but no other over-dark shadows. A tribute as well to not overprocessing the image.
Lighting - natural light, appears on a cloudy day. The bright spots on the water are not blown out; the dark areas of the image are not hiding details. This demonstrates good overall control of the camera and your position in relation to the scene.
Challenge requirements - meets the challenge requirements quite well. The shot shows a good imagination and good execution. Well done! Not sure why this didn't do better - it is original, has an element of humor, and is a clear shot.
Overall/my opinion - as stated above a different crop may have made this even stronger. By making the image more square before resizing, the end result after resizing would be closer to 640x640. This would have made the bear a larger and stronger element in the scene which may have helped to make it stand out more. Overall this is a well done image.
Photographer found comment helpful.
