A shot from last fall. And while I'm sorely tempted to use it to jump on the soapbox about excessive use of the cloning tool, I will resist the urge
! Instead a little natural history and a personal plea to help alleviate the plight of BC's bears...
The Natural History: Many people are aware that the annual fall migration of salmon on the west coast of North America helps support many species of mammals to survive, including grizzlies, black bears, wolves and even Spirit Bears. Fewer folks know that the temperate rainforest itself (including the towering Douglas Firs and Sitka Spruce) is dependent on this annual flood of nutrients. How? Good question. Well, it turns out that many of the bears (and normally the subordinate ones) "steal" salmon from under the nose of the more dominant bears and drag them off into the forest to consume them in relative peace - just like the black bear pictured above is doing. And, of course, the scraps they leave behind decompose and make their way into the biogeochemical cycle that's an integral mechanism powering the ecosystem. We know this because the towering trees have been found to harbour isotopes of nitrogen (which is essential for tree growth) that come only from the salmon. Web of life stuff - cool, eh?
And the personal plea: As a conservation photographer (and I bet you thought I was a wildlife photographer!) I spend a lot of my time involved with various conservation initiatives. Currently I'm sponsoring and promoting a movement to ban the trophy hunting of bears in BC, including, of course, grizzlies. The current action we're taking is an online petition to garner signatures supporting this effort (the petition will be presented to the premier of BC in conjunction with a bear photography book). I don't want to hijack THIS gallery to promote this cause - but if you're interested in this issue (and even potentially in signing the petition), please check out this image and commentary in the Environmental Photo Journalism gallery:
Peering Into An Uncertain Future?
Subject: Young Black Bear (
Ursus americana) eating salmon in the forest
Location: Northern BC Coast (Great Bear Rainforest), Canada
Camera: Nikon D3
Lens: Nikon 600 mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR lens hand-held.
Exposure: 1/160s at f5. ISO 1600; -0.33 stop compensation from matrix metered exposure.
Noise Reduction: Minimal and only in RAW conversion
Crop: Moderate - this is about 70% of full frame
All comments and critiques welcome, but probably best to limit comments to the image and natural history info (comments on the petition or conservation issue are better left in the Environmental PJ Gallery). As always, probably better to view the large image prior to commenting...
Thanks a bunch!
Brad
Comments
15 commentsYou can't start the discussion and not expect us to jump in. I think it is abhorent to trophy hunt. I don't mind hunters that take trophies in addition to using their kill for food, skins, etc but to just take trophies is disgusting. I believe that all hunting needs to be done while keeping the balance of the larger ecosystem in mind.
I know I'm reading into this image too much, but I get the sense that the bear feels guilty about stealing the salmon, and is trying to hide behind the vegetation. For me, the eye contact is the best part of the image.
I'll certainly take a look at the EPJ topic, and sign the petition. It is great to hear that you are using your photography skills for conservation. That is my goal as a photographer too, but I'm nowhere near as successful as you! Keep up the good work!
-Cam
Sally: This is one where I like the vegetation in front of the face too - definitely felt the same away about the "peeking thru" thing. Saw your name on the list of signatures - thank you very much! Every signature is significant!
Cam: I'm not sure about the guilt about eating the salmon - more like bummed out he got caught!
Cheers...
Brad
Very nice photo for a very good cause.
I applaude your efforts in conservation, and look forward to seeing your posts on NPN.
Visually they are always pleasing to look at, and always come with a learning statement that viewers can take to heart. Your posts always make me think about the photos and how to apply the idea to my photography, or how we as people can make a difference in the outdoor world we enjoy.
I enjoy looking at this photo for the peeking view that's been mentioned, and also the story it tells with the wet fur, the drool from the bear's mouth and the gaping mouth of the salmon.
Great detail in the dark fur and those eyes feel as they stare right through me.
Thanks for posting, and for the info!!
It does apear to me though as if the focus here was on the vegetation in front of the bear, however, that could just be the result of sharpening for web output and knowing you I suspect that is what it is.
Keep up the good conservation work.
Good eye - truth is I manually over-rode the autofocus and split the distance between the vegetation by the snout and the eyes (with this lens at this distance DOF is virtually 50:50 at all apertures) - which was a point part-way up it's snout (that was so low in contrast I couldn't assume the AF could effectively lock onto it). No selective sharpening difference between the vegetation and the face of the bear...
Cheers...
Brad
congrats :István
Ken Archer
I will echo Brad's words here, most nature photographers will agree that animals like this should be protected, but once you have been to that truly magical bear wonderland and interacted with them you really learn and feel how important it is to protect them. Please sign the petition!!
Wonderful photograph, plants in the face and all. If I were that interested in studio portraits, I would not be looking at a nature photography gallery.
I admire your photography and your dedication to conservation, especially regarding issues such as habitat conservation and preserving salmon runs. Regarding the initiative to ban bear hunting, you must know that your personal plea loudly demands at least a short response. After 40 years in natural resources work, I have seen many efforts by good people with good intentions to promote causes that were ecologically unsound, and distracted attention from the real threats to natural resources. This sure looks like one of those mistakes. I’ll post a little more info in a comment on your Environmental PJ post. I won’t expand here, as I agree this is not the forum for such discussions, or such personal pleas.
I'll take this one offline with you - straying too far away from photography. Only thing I will say here is in response to your statement:
As a trained biologist (BSc, MSc Behavioural Ecology) I'll say this: Not ecologically unsound, not a mistake. Time to go offline...
Brad
By the way, how far away were you from the bear here? I am asking because I downloaded a software called DOFmaster onto my iPhone, and this calculates how much depth of field you get with a camera-lens-f stop-focus distance. For example, I typed out Nikon D3, 600mm lens, f5 and 40 feet (I just imagined you were 40 feet away), and got the DOF at 0.39 feet. So, you would have had both the eyes and the snout fairly sharp if you had focussed halfway between these two points! Now, isn't that cool?
Thanks for the kind words. In terms of the distance to the bear - I think your guess of 40 ft isn't far off, but given it was shot a few months back I'm guessing at that too! I also have DOFmaster for my iPhone and often take it into the field with me. I have memorized specific commonly used lens/aperture/distance (and resulting DOF) combos so I have a good feel for the DOF for most shots. Of course, the actual DOF calculation of any of these tools has to be used with caution, as fall-off of focus with distance from focal plane is a continuous characteristic and where one draws the line and says "this is in focus and that isn't" is always open to debate (the old "how sharp is sharp?" debate). I've run into a few shooters who tend to think of DOF as tho' it's like a distinct sharpness "wall", and this simply isn't the case! But DOFmaster is a cool and helpful little tool!
Thanks again for your feedback!
Cheers...
Brad