Pausing at Land's End
There are times when wildlife photography can be a frustrating hobby (or profession) - so commonly things almost set up perfectly, but at the last minute something happens to destroy the scene or scenario you thought was about to come together right in front of you and you're left with...nothing! But every once in a while everything goes just right...and it feels just SO good - and it makes it all so worthwhile! For me, this shot was one of those times! As I saw the male grizzly slowly approaching the grassy point with that beautiful moss and lichen covered cliff as a backdrop and the beautifully dark and dead calm water in front of the bear (producing a strikingly coloured reflection) I was more than a little excited. Then the bear calmly approached land's end, paused, and bent down to take a drink. And, to top it off, I actually had the right lens on the right camera AND that combination was in my hands. Sweet! Someone was smiling on all of us who were present to witness this scene evolve.
Subject: Adult male Grizzly (
Ursus arctos) enjoying a pre-swim drink
Location: Great Bear Rainforest, BC, Canada
Camera: Nikon D4s
Lens: Nikkor 400mm f2.8E VR plus TC-14EIII (1.4x) telconverter (550mm total focal length). Hand-held from floating zodiac. VR on and in "Sport" mode.
Exposure: 1/640s @ f6.3; ISO 3200. -1.0 stop compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.
Crop: Minor - this is about 90% of the full-framed image
More details about the image - including a 2400-pixel version of the image - can be found here on my website:
http://www.naturalart.ca/galleries/latest/.
Comments and critiques welcomed - probably best to view the larger version prior to doing so!
Cheers...
Brad
Comments
10 commentsKeith
I am very appreciative of images hand held from a small boat and only wish that more Photographers understood how advantageous and peaceful the experience can be on intimate back waters. This is a fine example of one of those intimate moments and having water as your foreground is always a plus. I like the feel of this image very much but do believe it would be even stronger if the Bear's head were raised above the grasses he is behind in this view.
Joining one of your tours is on my 'Bucket List' to be able to enjoy these types of encounters with you and learn some tricks from the Master.
Well done . . .
Photographing from a boat is special, and you have surely perfected the art of hand-holding a long lens on a bobbing Zodiac!
You are totally correct regarding taking images from a boat (as long as it is not a rough sea
You are guaranteed a low view-pont.
This is great but I could do without the "pesky" grass across the face
Thanks for all the feedback on this image - appreciated. And, if I ever it see him again I'll have to remember to thank the bear for his part in producing the scene!
On the grasses overlapping the body (and face of the bear) - I could have easily removed those, but to me they were an integral part of the scene and they didn't detract at all from my appreciation of the scene - either at the time it evolved or later when looking at the image. I like clean, simple images as much as anyone, but I do think that there's a bit of a tendency right now to see almost anything touching the subject as a "distraction" (for me, large OOF objects in foreground or background distract far more than things like in-focus grasses overlapping a subject...unless of course they cross an eye or obscure the face...).
Cheers...
Brad