I took this picture early one morning on the Chilcotin river. The mood with the mist and early light were wonderfully eerie. This big female suddenly came splashing around the bend cutting right through the light. I was so in awe I almost forgot to hit the shutter and just managed to get off a burst of about 12 shots as she disappeared up the bank. It was magical…except when I got home to look at the photos I had not noticed a crow had flown right through the frame outside the depth of field. I love crows but truthfully, an out-of-focus crow in front of a majestic grizzly-in-the-mist-not so much.

As a wildlife photographer I have generally limited myself to adjusting my photos with basic controls-exposure, levels, some colour adjustments, and sharpening, which digital photography seems to demand. I am always cropping my compositions, but rarely have I ever removed something from a photo. (I confess to removing some bird poo off a lovely photo of a lilac breasted roller. It was unsightly.) The more I looked at this photo, the more I wanted to see it without the black silhouette in the foreground…so, I made friends with the cloning tool and am curious what you think… (See next post)