The Water Beard

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 26, 20161,242 views7 comments

The Water Beard

I captured this image while scouting out a new location for a future photo tour. The location is near the BC-Yukon border and is extremely remote - it's only accessible by helicopter (unless one wants to hike for 5-days!).

I tried to time this shot to "optimize" the streaming water coming off the female bear's jaw and neck with the second it looked over our way and made eye contact. The "look over" was exceptionally brief, but seemed to occur each time this particular bear raised its head after submerging it to scan underwater for passing salmon. I'm guessing it was just making sure we were behaving and not taking advantage of the situation and moving in on it when it couldn't see us.

I have a much longer rant on my website about the value of selective shooting (as opposed to "machine-gunning") but thought I'd spare y'all the pain of that! If anyone is interested, just follow the link below to see the rant! enlightened

Subject: One dripping wet female grizzly (Ursus arctos)
Location: Taku River Drainage, near the BC-Yukon border, Canada
Camera: Nikon D4s
Lens: Nikkor 400mm f2.8E VR plus TC-14EIII (1.4x) teleconverter - 550mm total focal length. Hand-held. VR on and in "Sport" mode.
Exposure: 1/1250s @ f6.3; ISO 1250. -0.67 stop 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 and a rant on the value of selective shooting - can be found here on my website...

http://www.naturalart.ca/galleries/latest/.

Comments and critiques welcomed - probably best to view the larger version (or, better yet, the new detail view) 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 comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on January 26, 2016 at 5:03 PM

Hello Brad .. Well done with the beard thing! :) Looks like an interesting location !

Enjoy the darker background makes the bear PoP . I too prefer to be selective when shooting and may take up to 3 consecutive shots very close together. This helps with such things as Closed Eyes, Open mouth , etc...

Sharp and nice catch lights too.

Thanks for sharing.

Bill
www.BillBickle.com

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on January 26, 2016 at 6:28 PM

Brad: when viewed large, the coloration and textures in the bear make her really pop off the page. She's a beauty and so is the photo. Richard

Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on January 26, 2016 at 8:41 PM

Pretty spectacular, Brad! Beautiful bear, beautiful scene, beautifully photographed. I'm not a machine-gunner either, and have perhaps unduly influenced my kids to be selective vs "spray and pray" as well. I do miss captures I likely would have gotten by firing away, however, but on the other hand, I think I hit precise moments just as often and feel a little extra pride when I do. laugh

Back to your image, this is a lovely scene and wonderful, natural-feeling composition, captured with perfect techs, timing, and processing.

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on January 26, 2016 at 9:17 PM

Brad, I think the fast shutter may have move validity in straight flight shots than anywhere else. Other than that, landing, takeoff, striking, aerial combat all have a moment of peak action that should be caught by the experienced. Other than that one minor exception, I totally agree with you. Its like trying to win the lottery by buying all the tickets you can.

Your bear shot here is a perfect example. A few years ago, you posted a bear shot I liked very well, and I commented it was about the bear and not the photographer. I think that is because you try to know and show your subjects in their own story, with respect and technique. Good work! laugh

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

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on January 27, 2016 at 1:11 AM

Brad,
This is very nice most particularly the waterfall.

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

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on January 27, 2016 at 10:19 AM

This is stunner !!!
Getting into the rhythm of your subject n coming out with a frame like this, must be very-very satisfying!
Jagdeep Rajput devil

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

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on January 27, 2016 at 12:42 PM

The moment, exposure techs and the processing feel near perfect. That said, you mention a bit of crop...and if you have pixels, I would suggest a little more space on our left and possible top to balance that adjustment. As is, I feel she feels slightly crowded on the butt side and it would be more so allowing a sliver for mat/frame.

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