Black Bear #2

ByEarl

Black Bear under Oak Tree
Black Bear under Oak Tree
Again, a photo of a Black Bear — this from a long distance in a natural setting. For reasons I can’t entirely explain, it’s one of my favorites from this recent trip to the Smokies.

Black Bear under Oak Tree (cropped)
Black Bear under Oak Tree (cropped)
Normally I don’t shoot this Nikon 70-300mm VR lens full out at 300mm, as I’ve felt it loses a bit of sharpness at the longest end. I’ll keep it 280mm, or less, but this black bear looking around from under that enormous Oak Tree was a long ways off and I ended up going all out (300mm.) I’m certainly okay with the results, so perhaps I’ve been harsh with my previous judgement of this lens. There are times when that extra 20mm is worth the effort.

I’m not sure if it’s the bear or the tree that’s the “star” of this image…perhaps both together.

The second photo is a cropped image of the first only posted to provide more detail of the bear in the first photo.

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don
don
15 years ago

The sharpness of the long position looks fine to me. It’s a fine tree shot that improves with the addition of the bear.

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Earl
Earl
15 years ago
Reply to  don

don, for me this shot is more natural then yesterdays road crossing…but I’ll happily photograph either one.

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Monte Stevens
Monte Stevens
15 years ago

This image really shows how small we are in relation to nature. I think I prefer the top image, this is where we show more of the natural world around the bear. I smile at the posture of the bear. He (she) seems to be looking down, lost in thoughts, and relaxed in the shade of the tree. Well done, Earl!

I hardly carry the 70-300mm with me anymore. Most of my working area is in close as I do not shoot many wildlife images anymore. When I head off to the Metro parks I generally take my 18-200mm due to the close focusing distance and the 150mm reach. Yet, I will not part with the 70-300mm. :-)

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Earl
Earl
15 years ago
Reply to  Monte Stevens

Monte, oh I agree about the top image. I only included the bottom cropped image to show a little more of the bear details.

I find the 70-300mm to be a good general purpose lens when I’m not sure what I might come upon outdoors. Used with the Nikon D700 full frame camera it’s about the equivalent of a 46-200mm on a Nikon D300 — none too long for wildlife.

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