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Wm. Bates | all galleries >> Wildlife Gallery >> Antlers and Horns Gallery > Proud Mother 06_02_05.jpg
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02-JUN-2005

Proud Mother 06_02_05.jpg

Canon EOS 10D ,Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
1/250s f/8.0 at 170.0mm iso200 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Steve Patterson06-Jun-2005 18:49
Thanks for the info...you could be a very good teacher. And yes, meeting up again sounds good...we plan on it. Could be Yellowstone or some other beautiful local. We may go up to see Crater Lake in Oregon, and could meet up somewhere on the way back from there. And, yes again, to you buying the first round! Appreciate the photo advice.
Guest 06-Jun-2005 16:01
Bill -- Great shot! Appreciate your shots even more now that I have visited Yellowstone and the Tetons. As you know, the past week at both parks was an interesting time...everything from beautiful spring like weather to 4+ inches of snow on June 1st! I learned from one Montana resident that this is not uncommon at this time of year. All said, a great time. Am going through my shots now as well but wasn't as fortunate with light in some of the shots I really wanted to capture...Oxbow Bend, Moulton's Barn, etc... but took the shots I was fortunate to have. Thanks again for your previous advice and for sharing your great shots...they really reflect your ability and your familiarity with the areas. Best regards -- Bishop
Wm. Bates06-Jun-2005 15:01
First this is about a 2/3 of a frame crop. The distance was maybe 35 or 40 yards.

The rules in Yellowstone state you must be 35 yards from animals with a 100 yards distance for bears. You can't approach the animals ( I'm not totally sure what that means but try to use reasonable judgment here).

With both elk and bison being within a few feet is pretty easy and almost hard to avoid in some cases. I wouldn't call it smart to get that close, these animals are not tame and a elk, moose and buffalo are plain and simply dangerous. But I often photographed animals at a few feet from the car.

This shot was taken from the car at 10 or 12 feet...and it isn't a crop.
Jim Mullen06-Jun-2005 14:23
Hi Bill,
I noticed that this was shot at 170mm. Is it common in Yellowstone to be able to get that close without spooking the animals?
Wm. Bates06-Jun-2005 13:45
Steve, I think what you're seeing is more a function of light and its use than anything else. I'm not a Photoshop wiz. Post for this image was convert the raw file with Capture One LE. then in Photoshop first I cropped in a little tighter to get rid of a little sky, I did a very minor levels adjustment, I added a just a little contrast, bumped the color saturation an average of 3%. After that it was resize for the web and then I added a some on sharp mask last. Key here with USM is a very small radius on this .2 and a high level in the 250 to 400 range. the threshold is usual set at 0 to 2 or 3. I really try to watch for sharpening artifacts and back of when they begin to show.

Now to what is really important. Get it right in the camera first. Post can make a good photo better but it doesn't fix garbage very often. The key is really the light and how you use it.

First simple trick...never shot with the light coming from behind you. Side light is always best. Back light can be OK but is tougher to work with. Side light adds shadows which help to sculpted your subject and give them depth. This shot was kind of side lit. With the grizzly the light was behind and to the side which gave the fur that rim lit look.

Next trick, which is really hinted at in this photo. Look closely and ask yourself what the weather conditions were like. It really is the key to success. It was very lightly sprinkling when I shot this photo. A good thin high overcast sky is perfect for wildlife photography. Mother Nature's way of providing you a huge soft box/light diffuser. Bright sun just gives you to high a contrast for cameras film or digital to really handle. We want soft subtle light; not the harsh light of day.

June 2nd was a perfect day for wildlife photography. I had a high bright over cast sky that only thickened occasionally and turned to rain. In this photo the mountain in the background was under thick clouds and it was snowing which you can see in the photo. The clouds were thin with the sun trying hard to burn through on the hillside with the elk. Things were a little wet and green and really did almost have a subtle glow to them.

Steve get that 100-400IS and lets go back to Yellowstone for a few days next September or October. Then just pray for not great weather.

Oh and the first round of Fat Tires is on me.
Steve Patterson06-Jun-2005 12:42
Bill, your big animal shots all seem to have a great "glow" to them. The animals coats are very sharp and seem to have a wonderful glow to them...and I am not just talking about this shot. Is it just good light, or are you doing something wonderful in post work. I would love to know your work flow for this shot. Are you getting this look from white balance adjustments? They all look great to my eye, and I would love to know" how to " for myself.
Guest 06-Jun-2005 07:49
Amazing Picture - almost looks like an oil painting