Bison in Yellowstone

[ctcook]

I took this shot some time ago and as my PP skills are improving I'm going back through my archives trying to bring to life images I passed over in the past. In this one the subject was too dark, I was able to mask the bison, copy to a new layer, and then use levels to lighten.

Is the contrast between the subject and background unnatural looking?

Other critiques are welcome as well.

EXIF:
Nikon D40
f/5.6
1/640 sec.
ISO - 400
Exposure bias -1.3
200 mm
No Flash

[dblightsey]

it looks pretty natural to me. I find the bisons face still too dark though.

[alphasco]

I agree. About the bison's dark face: use the "brighten shadows" feature of your image processor to bring his face out a bit more -- not a whole lot, just a little, and maybe perk up the contrast. A very slight bit of "sharpen image" may help, too. I like the composition as it is. Good job!