A Spirited Sentinel

Gallery: WildlifePosted November 3, 2009390 views17 comments

The rare all-white specimens of black bears found on the northern BC coast are known as Spirit Bears owing to their significance in the culture of the local natives. The predominant native legend about the Spirit Bear is that "the Creator" produced the Spirit Bear to remind its people of the previous hardship of living in all the snow and ice of the last ice age (and presumably to also remind them of how much better things are in the current interglacial period). Other legends stress the role of the bear as a sentinel guarding the forest.

I was lucky enough to capture this shot of a Spirit Bear doing its darnedest to promote the legend of Spirit Bear as a sentinel - it was obvious which legend THIS bear favoured! I shot this image quite early one morning in very low light conditions. To be perfectly honest, I converted this image to Black & White (B&W) primarily because with the low light conditions the colour simply wasn't very inspiring - which nicely leads into another topic...

What type of images lend themselves to B&W conversion? Although I have spent hours perusing thousands of B&W images from some famous B&W photographers, I make no claim to be an expert in B&W images at all, and what follows DEFINITELY falls into the realm of personal preference. That being said, images that normally rank high for me as B&W conversion candidates are those which cover a wide tonal range (including "real" black and "real" white in them - and lots of tones in-between) and, of course, those with less than inspiring colour (tho' it has to be acknowledged that some beautiful and vibrant colour images often make beautiful B&W images as well). In my case, if an image looks very good in colour I normally don't think to convert it to B&W (which may well be a fault of mine). Anyway - the moment I looked at the colour version of this image I thought "wow - that would look great in B&W". Not only did this image cover a wide tonal range, but the bear's coat really had a lot of white-on-white detail (which, of course, translates to multiple tones of gray after conversion to B&W). And, as previously mentioned, the colour in the original image was anything but inspiring!

I've posted a colour version of this image immediately below. While I welcome all comments about this image - the thing I'm most curious about is which you prefer - the B&W or colour version? Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Subject: Adult Spirit Bear (Ursus americana kermodei) on log
Location: Northern BC Coast (Great Bear Rainforest), Canada
Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Nikkor 600 mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR lens - supported on Gitzo 1348 carbon fibre tripod with Wimberley head. VR on and set to "Tripod" mode.
Exposure: 1/100s at f6.3. ISO 1600. -0.33 stop compensation from matrix metered exposure.
Crop: Very minor - this is about 95% of original capture

All the gory details about this shot (field notes, all camera settings and processing details, conservation, etc.) can be found at:

http://www.naturalart.ca/galleries/mammals/bears/detail_16.html.

Cheers...

Brad

Comments

17 comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on November 3, 2009 at 12:21 PM

And here's the colour version...

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

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on November 3, 2009 at 1:28 PM

B & W, without a doubt. You hit the nail on the head—tonal ranges from black, black to white white. I particularly like how the bear's coat translated.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on November 3, 2009 at 2:13 PM

I like them both a whole lot. The b&w seems to have more detail to my eye (I am sure that is just because of the b&w) but the color version seems warmer and more welcoming. I would use the color version as an illustration in a book about spirit bears and I would print the black and white frame it and hang it in my home. Excellent image either way.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Neil Rossmiller on November 3, 2009 at 2:45 PM

Hi Brad,
I like both images ,but for very different reasons.
I disagree with your assesment of uninspiring color. White usually never is and we often overcompensate for it. The bear as well as the background look to be a bit to warm to me. Try cooling it a bit and see if that helps. Grandma used to use blueing in her wash and it sometimes works on images.
The B&W lacks some snap that you may try to correct using the channel mixer set for monochrome. My rule of thumb is that the three channels should add up to 100. My starting point R=56 G=82 B= -38 . You may need to lighten a little as well.
Neil Rossmiller
Hoytsville, Utah

Registered on October 30, 2009, 156 Posts, 749 Comments

Comment posted by JACK NEAL on November 3, 2009 at 2:47 PM

Both pictures are super! After saying that, I will say that I like the color shot better.

Registered on September 26, 2009, 131 Posts, 554 Comments

Comment posted by kiran khanzode on November 3, 2009 at 7:05 PM

Brad, I prefer the color version, nice comp/perch.

Registered on February 21, 2009, 83 Posts, 428 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on November 3, 2009 at 9:31 PM

I liked the black and white just fine, but upon viewing the color I was drawn far deeper into the image. Yes, b&w can be dramatic but the human eye sees in color and I found the warm colors on the coat to be intriguing and spent much more time looking at the surroundings and detail.

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

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on November 4, 2009 at 12:06 AM

I like the colour, Brad. Maybe, because I have never seen anything like this, I prefer the colour as it gives me an idea of what a spirit bear looks like. But, in your case, you have seen one, so you can try and give it another dimension, I guess!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 302 Posts, 2055 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on November 4, 2009 at 12:08 AM

It wouldn't have struck me as a shot to be converted but I stand corrected! Superb shot and conversion.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Marsel van Oosten on November 4, 2009 at 6:26 AM

There's something to say for both versions, but I have a slight preference for the color version because it better shows the specialness of this species, whereas with the bw version you never know if something was really that light or that it was a result of the conversion method.

Either way, I'd tone down the bright area near the left edge of the frame to balance it more with the right side.

Registered on March 9, 2004, 285 Posts, 2277 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Caddick on November 4, 2009 at 7:24 AM

I think they both are good the B&W best illustrates the spirit bear legend and the colour is the more factual.

Registered on November 14, 2005, 21 Posts, 74 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on November 4, 2009 at 1:47 PM

What I like about the B&W version is the pronounced detail in the bear's fur, probably also due to increased contrast. While I do think it is a good conversion and that the image is a candidate for this (for the reason I mentioned above) I feel more moved by the color version despite that the light and therewith the coloration is not as spectacular as you may wish.
Conclusion: both images work!

I can understand Marsel's point about darkening the bright patch

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Marcellini on November 4, 2009 at 2:17 PM

I like both but think the color would look better if the background was a bit darker. I like how it pops in the bw a lot. What a sight though, would love to see them one day.

Registered on November 27, 2007, 250 Posts, 2468 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Anderson on November 4, 2009 at 6:47 PM

Love both. Which I prefer depends on my feelings about nature at the time. I would love to see one and the reality of the colour version suits that perspecive but if I'm thinking about the role of the animal as protector of the forest, the b/w version has more drama.

Registered on November 18, 2008, 4 Posts, 4 Comments

Comment posted by Carl Donohue on November 5, 2009 at 2:58 AM

Hey Brad,

Either would be fine with me. In the color, I'd maybe add a little pop to the b/g, and in the B&W, maybe darken the b.g on the upper half the image a bit.

Excellent photo either way.

Cheers

Carl

Registered on November 1, 2003, 46 Posts, 589 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on November 5, 2009 at 9:48 AM

Hi all,

Thanks for all the excellent feedback! While my personal preference is still for the B&W version, it's interesting (and illuminating) to see that many prefer the colour version. Here I thought that anything I did with this image (released as a limited edition print, etc.) would revolve around the B&W version - I may have to re-think this strategy now! If I tried to sell only what I like I would be an even a poorer man than I am now!

Cheers...thanks again for the feedback...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on November 5, 2009 at 9:45 PM

This works so well with the b&w. How lucky were you to get this? Blessed really. I saw a show the other day on the first found hybrid polar/grizzly bear that some crazy hunter killed. It was an amazing story and I'm surprised no one has hunted the hunter yet LOL

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments