Grizzly with cubs

[CChapman]

Sow with two cubs walking along Yellowstone Lake, YNP. Cloudy day, shot without my tripod, they were on the move. The coloring is what I am finding to be difficult. One side is gray and one side more brown.

[n8]

Great detail and great overall catch. Probably only so much you can do with the color when that's just how the scene is.
Welcome to the forums!

[tatadero]

Hello! Yeah... color seems to be the biggest problem here. Maybe some more DOF here as well to get the cubs sharper.

[LeeIs]

i like it as is.

i don't see any problem with the brown/grey towns. that's just the terrain they were walking in.

i like the line created by the cubs leading to the mom.

good stuff

[PrevailingConditions]

Yes, welcome to the forums. If this were mine, I would try cropping (using a square crop) so that the momma bear is on the lower right cross of the rule of thirds. Also, my general philosophy is that if the color doesn't add to the shot then go to B&W.

Weren't you a little concerned about being that close to a momma bear with cubs?

PC

[CChapman]

PC - I will try the cropping like that, haven't tried the B/W on it yet. I was actually further away then the "park" rules and I was up on a bluff and they were below. I was actually the only one shooting at that point and I pulled back when I couldn't see which way they were going. She kept on along the Lake.

Thanks

[GB1]

Congrats on your shot CC. I think you did great considering the technical issues: low light due to clouds, need to use fast-ish shutter speed due to them moving, etc. I would prefer a little more DOF here to include the cub behind her in the sharp zone, and make that foreground rock sharper, but you did well (and survived).

To me, this shot begs for a crop. The bears should probably be about 50-75% larger in the frame. But you would have to try to see. I don't think a B&W will help here as they will get lost in the background.

I see your dilemma on the color. It's not terrible or anything, but I agree that a slightly different color cast - not sure what - would make it more exciting. I would try bumping up the saturation and see what happens, perhaps adding a bit of blue.

Welcome to the forums btw

G

[CChapman]

Thanks G for the comments. I cropped the picture, which I think works pretty good. Tried to boost the color a bit. If only they would have stopped walking for just a second, but they were on a pretty good trek.

[draymorton]

I liked it as it was.

Try using color balance for adjustments here.

[emiles]

The only issue I see on the cropped image, is that you almost trimmed off the behind of the last cub. Might wanna give him a little more breathing room. Love the capture though