Spirit of the Tundra

Gallery: WildlifePosted June 26, 20073,551 views25 comments

I caught these two polar bears sparring in the midst of a blizzard (I've removed nothing from the background and it is not blown out - there was NOTHING but white behind these guys!). The greatest challenge in capturing this image was keeping the snowdrift within my lens hood down to manageable levels!

To me this image captures a little of the spirit of the tundra...

Subject: Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)
Location: Cape Churchill, MB, Canada
Camera: Nikon D2H
Lens: Nikon 200-400 VR f4 zoom (@ 360 mm)
Exposure: 1/500s at f5. ISO 200. +1.0 stop compensation from matrix metered exposure.

All the contextual information surrounding this shot (field notes, all camera settings and processing details, etc.) can be found at:

http://www.naturalart.ca/galleries/mammals/bears/detail_5.html.

Thanks in advance for any feedback on this image

Cheers...

Brad

Comments

25 comments

Comment posted by Jay Martin on June 26, 2007 at 12:08 PM

Wonderful capture Brad.

Registered on December 6, 2005, 200 Posts, 2209 Comments

Comment posted by Ashutosh Rajekar on June 26, 2007 at 12:15 PM

Incredible! Really nothing much to add here - this one is perfect!

Registered on June 8, 2006, 51 Posts, 910 Comments

Comment posted by Marie Strydom on June 26, 2007 at 12:21 PM

Stunning.

Registered on May 20, 2007, 16 Posts, 86 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Miller on June 26, 2007 at 12:35 PM

Wow - unreal, Brad

Would love to have seen this!

Registered on June 5, 2007, 5 Posts, 86 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Turner on June 26, 2007 at 2:34 PM

Awesome, Brad!!!

Registered on December 3, 2005, 39 Posts, 109 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Whitney on June 26, 2007 at 3:00 PM

FANTASTIC!!!

Bill

Registered on May 31, 2006, 135 Posts, 1232 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Dance on June 26, 2007 at 5:27 PM

This is pretty awesome Brad... my only inconsequential nit is wishing for a stronger profile of the bear with its back to the camera.

Registered on April 7, 2005, 65 Posts, 428 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Walters on June 26, 2007 at 6:40 PM

Beautiful image!!

Registered on October 30, 2005, 405 Posts, 3693 Comments

Comment posted by Josh Anderson on June 26, 2007 at 9:11 PM

Love it!

Registered on June 2, 2005, 493 Posts, 2996 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie Miller on June 26, 2007 at 9:47 PM

What an opportunity and what a capture.

Registered on May 13, 2007, 205 Posts, 603 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on June 27, 2007 at 1:46 AM

Very impressive capture!!! Your images are consistantly superior, Nicely done.

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Graeme Lee on June 27, 2007 at 5:23 PM

Great image Brad. Would love to experience this one day

Registered on May 8, 2006, 85 Posts, 641 Comments

Comment posted by Ganesh H Shankar on June 27, 2007 at 11:55 PM

Beautiful image Brad ! I love the action you have captured here

Registered on March 1, 2004, 324 Posts, 1867 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel McKeehan on June 28, 2007 at 12:50 AM

cool pic this would have been awesome to see. The bear on the ground seems to be slightly motion blurred which is odd for a 500th of a sec shutter. No real matter, love the scene

Registered on July 31, 2005, 99 Posts, 590 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Mason on June 29, 2007 at 11:15 AM

Amazing! Many thanks for sharing this wonderful image.

Registered on December 14, 2005, 399 Posts, 2305 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Harryman on June 30, 2007 at 9:11 PM

Classic shot. One of your finest.

Registered on May 28, 2007, 41 Posts, 22 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on July 2, 2007 at 8:51 AM

Brad, just a WONDERFUL shot of these two majestic giants. A rewarding image from such an all white scene too. Congratulations on your EP selection for this week in this category.

Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments

Comment posted by Thomas Biggs on July 2, 2007 at 9:29 AM

Wow!! Great capture Brad!! Congrats on the EP!!

Registered on January 13, 2005, 310 Posts, 1257 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on July 2, 2007 at 1:44 PM

Perfect! Wow... perfect weather conditions to give the context to the bears environment; perfect subjects in classic sparring action; perfect detail; perfect timing. Great work. LOL, snowdrift in the lens hood! I can believe that! Congratulations on a well deserved EP for this. It must have so exciting to watch and then capture this.

Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Hyman on July 2, 2007 at 5:07 PM

Brad, This is totally awesome. Congratulations.

Well deserved selection.

Carol

Registered on January 18, 2007, 597 Posts, 8062 Comments

Comment posted by Greg Cope on July 2, 2007 at 8:24 PM

Yikes, wow, spectacular, and all the rest! Awesome shot!

Registered on January 22, 2007, 212 Posts, 2737 Comments

Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on July 2, 2007 at 9:18 PM

Outstanding action shot! You have handled the whites perfectly and every one of those white hairs have definition. Well deserved EP for the great image.

Registered on March 23, 2006, 1111 Posts, 6531 Comments

Comment posted by Ganesh H Shankar on July 2, 2007 at 9:39 PM

Beautiful image Brad ! Love the interaction.

Registered on March 1, 2004, 324 Posts, 1867 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Zarrella on July 16, 2007 at 6:27 PM

It is amazing... I cannot begin to wonder how to shoot under such circumstances. One has to be ultra-dedicated from my point of view. The subject matter is one I will have to pass on. You will never have to worry about competition from me as I will leave all such shots to people like you. Too cold for me.

Registered on March 16, 2006, 207 Posts, 743 Comments

Comment posted by Anand Narayanan on December 6, 2009 at 12:30 AM

love the white out ! and what a powerful left hand ! i would love to see these creatures at least once !

Registered on October 25, 2009, 110 Posts, 835 Comments