My Estuary, My Water...

Gallery: WildlifePosted March 21, 2011508 views23 comments

My Estuary, My Water, and My Reflection

This fellow is the reigning heavyweight champ of the Khutzeymateen Inlet and has been for about the last 10 years. He weighs in at about 1100 lbs. Some call him Brutus, some call him Barney - but I think it's safest to call him "Sir"!! He has a way of letting you know he owns pretty much everything in the valley - kind of like he's doing here. He used to have a twin brother (affectionately known as "Psycho Bear") in the area that was more than a tad ornery and looked almost identical - one could never tell who was who, until Psycho Bear made it clear it was him by swimming after Zodiacs and doing other cantankerous things! Pyscho Bear hasn't been seen for about 8 years and many think Brutus dispatched of his evil twin.

I'm heading back to the Khutzeymateen in about 2 months and look forward to re-acquainting myself with Brutus!

Subject: Dominant male Grizzly (Ursus arctos) staking his claim
Location:Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada
Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Nikkor 200 mm f/2 VR lens - handheld from Zodiac
Exposure: 1/200s at f2. ISO 320. -0.33 stop compensation from matrix metered exposure.
Crop: This is about 80% of full frame.

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

Oh...and the green/yellow thing between his legs is just a stick covered in algae (not a rope or other man-made object) and I know I COULD clone it out!

Cheers...

Brad

Comments

23 comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on March 21, 2011 at 10:57 PM

The bear certainly looks like a beast! The f/2 200 did an excellent job of keeping the face sharp and everything else in a pleasing soft OOF - must be nice to have that in your bag when you have less than ideal conditions.

Regarding the stick, I find it distracting because it is so contrasting in color/shape to the other elements in the scene and it breaks up the natural negative space created by the bear.

This is also one of those images that I think is plagued by "to straighten or not straighten". It looks crooked but not sure it IS crooked and will fixing it really make it better?

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

Comment posted by Brad Hill on March 21, 2011 at 11:06 PM

Hey Luke,

Just a perception thing - It's not crooked. It was before I rotated it 2.32˚ CW (using multiple reference points on subject and reflection). But you bring up a valid point - perception can be as important as reality in photography. Those darned jagged shorelines!

RE: the slimy yellow thing: Well...it was there! Kind of a bummer...but you know how I am on cloning...

Cheers...

Brad

PS: Yep, the 200 f2 can be very useful at times!

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

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on March 21, 2011 at 11:46 PM

What a wonderful image Brad and very well framed to allow for the full reflection :^)

Hope your next encounter with Brutus goes well and looking forward to seeing more of the images you come back with ;^)

Kind regards,

Ashley

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

Comment posted by Richard Olsen on March 22, 2011 at 12:26 AM

An almost comical posture in the thumbnail, but when I opened it up I was riveted on those eyes! Not an animal I'd want to make angry.
Nice photo with a soft reflection to accent.

Registered on October 19, 2006, 306 Posts, 1571 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on March 22, 2011 at 12:29 AM

Superb image great detail and an excellent "leaning" pose, which may or may not make it look like it needs a tad of rotation.

The "pesky" stick is there but I really do not mind it as I am attracted to the face.

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on March 22, 2011 at 6:38 AM

Great hunk of a bear, Brad! The stick is a distraction, and if you hadn't mentioned it, would have assumed it was a man-made thing. I still think, though, there is a little CW rotation needed, if you look at the ripples in the water.

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

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on March 22, 2011 at 10:19 AM

Definitely indicating "mine!". A lot of eye contact going on here. At 1100 he is indeed a big boy. Great capture under that lighting while in a moving zodiac. I like the way the reflection takes up the space at the bottom to balance the image.

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

Comment posted by Max Waugh on March 22, 2011 at 10:31 AM

Interesting facial markings. It that basically a "bald spot" from his snout to his forehead? The dancing pose with the splay legs to the left is different... gives a slight sense of movement, which actually makes him a little more threatening to me (not a peaceful, restful bear). The only slight issue I have is the rotation Ajit mentioned.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on March 22, 2011 at 11:29 AM

hey Max,

Yes, you're looking at what appears to be "male pattern baldness" - I've seen in a lot in mature male grizzlies on the northern BC coast. I can't say if it's widespread (in all grizzly populations) or localized (or exaggerated) in this population. I have seen indications of it in photos of grizzlies from other areas, tho' I can't say I've seen it for myself in other populations. This bear is pushing 30 years old and shows the "baldness" more than any other bear I've seen.

On the levelling: Interesting issue - it actually is level - I've examined the high res version closely and the water line on the legs and key points linking reflection to subject and all line up they way they should (in a level shot). I don't disagree that the ripples create the impression of it being off-level - when I straighten it for the ripples the other lines (especially the water line on the left paw) look far worse than the ripples do now. Interesting perception issue, and one where you can't win!!

Cheers...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on March 22, 2011 at 2:34 PM

Brad this is an exquisite bear capture! I love the look, the POV over the water, the soft light and the shallow DOF

At first glance I thought a very slight CW rotation would improve this already great image

, but looking closely made me realise it might make the bear seem to be "tipping over" as the eyes seem to be on the same plane as posted.

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

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on March 22, 2011 at 10:43 PM

This is great, Brad. Nice to know that he's still around. I almost never take the D700 below about 500 iso, and I wonder if you could've gotten a little more DOF shooting at say 800 iso or so? Still, sharp where it counts and you really nailed his grumpy demeanor.

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on March 22, 2011 at 10:59 PM

Hey Charlie,

Good to hear from you. You say:

...and I wonder if you could've gotten a little more DOF shooting at say 800 iso or so?"

Absolutely. But that assumes I WANTED more DOF. And I didn't!

Cheers...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on March 23, 2011 at 12:20 AM

Yeah, I figured that....

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on March 23, 2011 at 1:33 AM

30 years old, WOW!!! No wonder he's boss, that's awesome for a wild bear. Sweet Photo Brad!!! Looks level to me too.

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on March 23, 2011 at 8:32 AM

Beautiful frame and wonderful gaze from this big boy!
The positioning of legs make it dynamic.
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on March 23, 2011 at 8:54 AM

Great capture of a pretty territorial behaviour- The water reflection is beautiful, and you've done a great job with exposure and DOF- I hope you have a lot of gasoline on your Zodiac- My congrats, Fabio

Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on March 23, 2011 at 9:34 AM

I like the stance and reflection in this bear image Brad. I also like your decision to shoot this wide open with the BG being so close to the bear. It made this shot IMO...because with the grass in the BG, this could have looked very busy.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on March 23, 2011 at 9:38 AM

The pose does it for me and the reflection is icing. I didn't know about baldness in bears. Quite interesting.

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

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on March 23, 2011 at 10:54 AM

I like the added tension from his splayed, leaning posture.

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

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on March 23, 2011 at 7:08 PM

I like the vertical composition to this and the look the bear is giving seems warning enough to me to stay far away. Good detail and sharp around the head to see the catch light in the eyes. It was interesting to read about the snout area and I assume the lighter color fur on the back is due to his age. I really enjoy seeing your bear images, king of the forest, like the lions are the king in Africa, both are majestic creatures. Well done.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Huff on March 24, 2011 at 3:52 PM

Awesome photograph, Brad. An awesome looking bear with those eyes. Really like the reflection in the water.

Ron Huff

Registered on August 31, 2010, 69 Posts, 440 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on March 24, 2011 at 6:22 PM

I gotta say, Brad, you've got the knack for shooting bears. The reflection here is killer in the comp, and yes, the word killer comes to mind when viewing this guy.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on March 28, 2011 at 11:02 AM

Really like this vertical comp and the reflection's awesome Brad, it makes the shot.
The short DOF works very well IMO. The yellowish branch between the legs doesn't bother me..
I suppose you could use the color replacement tool and match it to the others on the left if you wanted to?
Very well done

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments