by Brad Hill
Sly Eye - From "The Guy"
The spring of 2015 saw a changing of the guard and overall social order in the Khutzyemateen Grizzly Sanctuary. For over a decade a single very large dominant bear (who many called Brutus) ruled the region. And, it appeared as though most of the other bears in the area accepted his dominance and there was relative peace in the Khutzeymateen. From what we could tell Brutus did the "lion's share" of the mating, and definitely chased other large males out of the area. But even during the spring of 2014 we rarely saw Brutus, and it appeared as though the influence of this 30-something year old bear was waning. As an example, the male bear pictured here starting acting very dominant and cantankerous - in fact in the summer of 2014 he killed a female grizzly who had two very cute and photogenic cubs (which didn't win him any popularity contests among the humans who regularly visit the area). And, both the longtime bear guide in the Khutzeymateen and I had picked this guy as the new "alpha dog". And we nicknamed him simply "The Guy".
Fast forward to spring 2015. No sign of Brutus. And The Guy is fighting fit. But, very interestingly, it seems like several other bigger bears (including ones we had never seen) are coming out of the woodwork and are far MORE fit. Turns out "The Guy" didn't do too well in his quest for supreme dominance and has the scars and scabs to show it! And he even pretty much stopped acting aggressively and belligerent. So much for our predictions! 
Subject: Large male grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) showing his "sly eye" look
Location: Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary, northern BC Coast, Canada
Camera: Nikon D750
Lens: Nikkor 400mm f2.8E VR plus TC-20EIII (2x) teleconverter - 800mm total focal length. Hand-held from floating zodiac. VR on and in "Sport" mode.
Exposure: 1/800s @ f7.1; ISO 1400. No compensation compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.
Crop: This is about 85% of full-framed image
A lot more info about this shot - including a 2400 pixel version of the shot - 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
PS: Like all wildlife images on my website and that I post on NPN, the subject is fully wild and completely unconstrained. Besides the potential impact of my presence, nothing has been done to intentionally alter or affect the ongoing behavior of the subject and, of course, there has been no use of any form of bait or other form of wildlife attractants (including vocalizations)
Comments
7 commentsLooks like Guy is plenty willing to mix it up with most of the local boys. Might not be his turn yet, but I'd venture a guess, he left a mark or two on whoever left the wound between his eyes and will return to the ring once his confidence and ego fully heal and the bounty of summer bumps him up a weight class. A Sly eye for sure.
I think by cropping into his back and left side you have intensified the focus on the face which, for me, is a great choice. The massive left shoulder would certainly have competed for attention. In fact, my eye keeps going there hoping for more. What a tease!
I love how he seems to be bursting out of the frame due to tight framing. Also I like the simplicity in the elements forming the frame: the bear and grass. And of course that great expression on his face. He reminds me of Brando in the Godfather.
Cheers,
Hisham.
Brad.
Did you get all of him in frame, as I would have preferred that.
Hey Ken,
RE: "Did you get all of him in frame, as I would have preferred that."
I'm not surprised. Yes, I got all of him in the frame. My reasons for cropping as displayed are nicely encapsulated by the comments of Neil and Hisham (thanks guys).
Cheers...
Brad
Great close-up n 'wicked' expressions! I did notice the injury mark between the eyes.
Looks like he is keeping an eye on you, Brad!
If this was mine, I would either include full Bear on the top or crop it, slightly above the head.
Jagdeep Rajput
This is about the sly eye...but that 45 degree angled lower lip drips with attitude! Very cool. The dried blood between his eyes is a great accent. Thumbs up for this crop framing.
Neat shot Brad, the eye makes the shot for sure. As I was looking at this shot, I thought about several that I have taken of bears from cars with a fixed lens that I have about the same framing, ie I was a little too tight to get the whole bear in, looking at your crop choice I will take another look at them.