Peekaboo!

Gallery: WildlifePosted April 14, 2011338 views12 comments

Peekaboo!

During a recent image catalog cleaning spree I ran across this "archaic" image (from WAY BACK in 2007

) sitting in raw, unprocessed form. Makes me glad I took the time to clean house a little...

The subject is, of course, one of the extremely rare white-coated Black Bears known as "Spirit Bears" found in a small part of the Great Bear Rainforest along the central and northern BC coast. It's estimated that there's about 200 of these Spirit Bears in existence. We encountered this one in an old logging cut-block just above the shoreline as it was foraging in a colourful crabapple tree in its full fall splendour. This image was captured from the deck of a sailboat as we cruised along parallel to the shoreline.

If you take the time to look at the larger version of the image you'll note the crop is different than the "standard" sized image seen directly above. This was intentional on my part - the standard image is the crop I chose for online presentation and the larger one is the crop I would use to PRINT the image. I often use quite different crops for online vs. print presentation.

Subject: Spirit Bear (Urus americana kermodei) in crabapple tree
Location: Great Bear Rainforest, BC, Canada
Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikkor 200-400mm f4 VR @ 400mm (600mm EFL) - supported by tripod on deck of sailboat
Exposure: 1/250s at f4. ISO 250. -0.33 stop compensation from matrix metered exposure.
Crop - Standard sized image: about 70% of full frame
Crop - Larger version: About 95% of full frame

Besides the usual info (field notes, processing, etc.), there's a short discussion of cropping for electronic displays vs. print right here on my website...

http://www.naturalart.ca/galleries/latest/.

(just click on the "In the Field" tab under the image to see the discussion).

Comments & critiques welcomed. Probably better to view larger version first...

Cheers...thanks for looking...

Brad

PS: I've got a bet going with someone re: who's going to be first to suggest I clone all the leaves away...

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on April 14, 2011 at 3:47 PM

Ooooh, I like this a lot. The position of the head is perfect, and the colorful leaves look great. I wonder what it'll look like after you clone them though?

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on April 14, 2011 at 3:50 PM

Hey Bill,

Will probably look pretty blotchy! Your comment doesn't count as the "suggestion to clone the leaves away" (and the bet is still on)...

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on April 14, 2011 at 4:07 PM

a very nice image Brad...I'm sure many will find the amount of foliage a distraction but I love that the golden leaves echo this special bear's coat and that the eyes are clearly peeping out towards the viewer.

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Jorne de Bruin on April 14, 2011 at 5:20 PM

Very lovely Tree you got there Brad, some nice autumn leaves and stuff, It just that big white bear that distracts me from the awesome tree, can't you clone it out or something????

In all seriousness, I quite like the image as presented here, the leaves in front of the face give some nice sense of elusiveness which fits this species very well. (good thing there are no leaves in front of the eyes though). I like the print presentation better I must say, the clipped paws in the smaller one make it seem unfininshed (and un-Bradly!)

Cheers!

Registered on June 26, 2008, 178 Posts, 2136 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on April 14, 2011 at 8:15 PM

Very nice. I like the curiosity mirrored in the eyes. I'm with Jorne in liking the print version better. I have a good friend, Carol Bailey, that has done the Kermodie's on a couple of trips. This reminded me that I hadn't seen any images of these wonderful bears in quite some time. Thanks for sharing it.

Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments

Comment posted by Anthony Gibson on April 14, 2011 at 10:32 PM

Bah.... you seen one spirit bear in perfect fall colors, you seen them all.

Registered on June 11, 2008, 19 Posts, 130 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on April 14, 2011 at 11:18 PM

I think I have seen this bear somewhere before...but I like this version.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on April 15, 2011 at 9:38 AM

A very charming picture Brad, a real pleasure to look at :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Runco on April 15, 2011 at 10:28 AM

Nice shot Brad - beautiful bear in a really cool setting, I will admit that it doesn't grab me as much as your bear shots usually do though.

Registered on September 9, 2008, 77 Posts, 705 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Canuel on April 16, 2011 at 4:39 PM

A nice natural explosion of color in this one Brad. The off body center head position adds a lot to this one for me.

Registered on September 12, 2010, 53 Posts, 660 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on April 17, 2011 at 3:26 PM

Much prefer the larger version. . . obviously. Getting the eyes and ears in sharp focus is a testament to the camera and your experience/skills. I think the fact that this is a spirit bear makes it work that much more - because the color is such a wonderful contrast to the light bear, whereas a black bear with this color scheme would probably result in much of the bears shape being "lost"

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Stu Porter on April 17, 2011 at 5:52 PM

Wow - my first sighting of s spirit bear !! super shot, love the colour of the leaves and berries great that the eyes are clear, cheers Stu

Registered on March 10, 2011, 8 Posts, 58 Comments