Your honest assessment, please

[Steve Foss]

I'm not looking for comments from an uber-picky photographer perspective, so if folks can take off that hat and put on the hat of a regular human being, please do, and let me know if this has impact for you.

Thanks so much in advance for looking and commenting, everyone.

[dockothebay]

It's terrific - haunting is probably the closest emotion I can label. It would take a special kind of "decor", but it is definitely a unique portrait. I like it - a lot

[Dave S]

I like the look of this wolf appearing out of "nowhere". It's like you know something's there, but you can't see it until he/she sticks it's head through the darkness.

Another thing that cathces my eye about this pic Steve is the fact this wolf is virtually unscathed. No scars or bald areas on the face to indicate any brawling has occurred. It's just a very very clean look.

Good job.

[jaymevb]

my only suggestion would maybe be a closer crop, more like your avatar now

[Archerysniper]

If I know a tatoo artist could make it look the same I'd wear it, it kinda creaps up on you and before you no it it's to late.

[Luvsoutdoors]

I like the bigger pic-coming out of all the blackness-those menacing eyes that just hold you.

[thorski]

Steve- I am definitely not a photographer....but I think that pic is cool. I saw the pic as your avatar earlier today and it caught my eye immediately. I sat and stared at it and thought "wow". Nice.

Good job.

Thor

[Esox_Magnum]

Great pic, maybe one of if not the best wolf pic I have seen. I love wolves and have been looking reading about them for 35 years.

[finnbay]

I like the effect, Steve. I'm kinda partial to that even with some the studio stuff I do. If I had any C&C, it would be that the canvas is just a bit too big for me. Personal preference of course - I get bit pretty hard on npn for not leaving enough canvas so you can take that nit with a grain of salt!

[Steve Foss]

Thanks, everyone. Thanks for looking, thinking, commenting.

Ken, I take all nits with a grain of salt, especially when they come from photographers as stern as you look in your avatar. You darn teachers. You're so mean!

I look at the eyes of the wolf and then I look at your avatar and I say to myself: Self, I wonder who would win that fight, but I'd REALLY like to be there with a camera when the black wolf and the Great White Finn rumble. Just ribbin ya, buddy.

[finnbay]

Don't smile until Christmas!

[Steve Foss]

Don't smile until Christmas!

Makes me glad I opted out of teaching at the last minute. I like to smile a lot.

[Jameson]

I heard somewhere you do requests. Could we see it in b/w?

IMO while it is a very cool shot, that glare in the wolf's left eye keeps me from being drawn into them. It just seems to me that their is too much(maybe wrong angle of)light to go with the desired effect of the background. Just my opinion.

[mmeyer]

I like the large canvas. It creates a lot of nothingness, if that's a word. The drama comes from the eyes coming out of the nothingness. There are lot's of "wolf people" that would love to have that hanging on the wall.

Very nice work!

[Steve Foss]

Wolf. Finn. Hmmmmmmm. Note the Finn's got the same little region of glare in the same part of the eye as the wolf. Coincidence?

Jameson, I'd be a lot more likely to photoshop out the little bit of reflective glare in the eye than to turn it B&W. For me, it's those wild orange eyes that rivet the attention. It made me shiver when the wolf was looking at me from a few yards away, and it makes me shiver still. I never even noticed the reflection because every time I see any version of this image I'm taken right back to that moment. Thanks so much for catching that.

[Dave S]

I look at the eyes of the wolf and then I look at your avatar and I say to myself: Self, I wonder who would win that fight

Good question. Who would win between a black wolf and a ummmm....Grey Wolf Just funnin' with ya Ken.

[Steve Foss]

Here's the repost with glare removed.

[eyeguy 54]

Pretty cool.

[CJH]

Very menacing. Its a scary version of my black lab!!!!

[The_Duckslayer]

Hey Steve, I am just a regular human being and I think that it is awesome. I think a crop half way between what the picture is and what your avtar is would work great! As usual though you have done a great job with the camera!!! I don't know if it is standing there ready to attack me or standing there to let me know that I am not welcome. Great picture! Thanks for sharing! Take care and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[MARINERMAGNUM]

I can't decide. I think the avatar looks more intense because it is sharper. The comp looks fine.

Did you pet him?

[Steve Foss]

I can't decide. I think the avatar looks more intense because it is sharper. The comp looks fine.

Did you pet him?

I can't sharpen it much more. It printed quite nicely, though it looks softer for some reason online.

Pet her? Are you kidding me? Wolves bite Canon shooters harder than Nikon shooters bite Canon shooters!

[Hwood]

It is very cool. The glare is a hard one for me. I remember an art teacher in high school telling me no glare in the eyes means the animal is dead. It is bright in the first one and looks good without it, but I think some glare is needed. Have you tried the picture with a little bit more face out, not much at all, and a hint of ears or the tips of the ears showing?

[MARINERMAGNUM]

When are those wolves most active?

Me and Micpic need to head up that way with our blinds and a couple bags of those Beggin' Strips thingys to toss at 'em when they won't close the distance.

Just a thought.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks, Hwood. I have tried it with a bit more detail. The more ear/outline detail that shows, the less menacing and more intimate it looks.

I like it equally both ways for different reasons, if you know what I mean.

And please don't take me wrong in what I'm about to say, anyone, but I struggle to take nature images that appeal to most men. Almost all of my nature work is based on instinct and emotion, and for some reason it tends to appeal to women more than men. In this case, I think the implied menace is more of an attraction for men.

Dang. I can't believe I just made that distinction. Generalizations are almost always wrong to some degree (how's that for a generalization?)

Don't kill me for it, please.