In the Field

Formidable. Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia. September 28, 2026.

I've been actively photographing Grizzlies (and a LOT of Grizzlies) for more than 20 years. But even after all that time when an adult Grizzly turns in my direction and starts walking directly at me (in that very determined way Grizzlies do!) I still get very excited. Not so excited I forget everything about how my camera works, but excited nonetheless! This female Grizzly was actually very gentle and completely comfortable with our presence, but she still seemed to carry an air of force and power about her. Formidable is about the best word I can think of to describe her - just a real force of nature...

I used a Sony A1 II paired with a Sony FE 600mm f4 GM OSS lens to capture this image. One major thing I have noticed about the AF system of the Sony A1 II and the A7R VI is that its eye detection/recognition seems to work differently than that of Nikon Z 9. Please note that these comments are said in complete ignorance of the actual data inputs of the AF system and how those inputs are used within the eye detection algorithm - they are based purely on what I have seen in the field. Anyway...the eye detection system of the Nikon Z 9 (and Z 8 for that matter) act as though colour or tone contrast between the eye and surrounding fur is used to detect where the eye is. I have seen the system fail many times when photographing a very dark-faced bear with dark eyes - it just can't seem to find them. I've noticed the exact same thing when photographing black-faced dogs with dark eyes. However, while the Sony A1 II and the Sony A7R VI may also use eye/face contrast in their eye-detection algorithms, it also appears that the system works by assessing the head shape and then functionally saying "OK...if that's the head and it's pointed in that direction, the eye must be right here". The net result that I've experienced is that the Sonys find the eyes of dark or black-faced bears with dark or black eyes - and dark or black-faced dogs - much more effectively than the Nikons do. With this bear my Sony A1 II had zero trouble finding and sticking relentless to the eyes.

Note that exactly what the Nikon's and Sony's eye-detection systems are using to detect eyes - and how their algorithms work - may be totally different than what my observations suggest. I'm also not suggesting that Sony's eye-detection system - or its AF system overall - is "better" than Nikon's. I'm just saying that in the use case of dark-faced mammal with dark eyes Sony's eye-detection seems more reliable in the field. On the flip side, I've noticed that Nikon's subject detection system works better on marine mammals in water or when terrestrial mammals are swimming (but, for some reason, it only works better if you happen to use "Birds" mode!). Go figure...

Here's a larger version (4800 pixel) of this confident and bold Grizzly:

• Formidable: Download 4800 pixel image (JPEG: 5.8 MB)

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

1. These images - in all resolutions - are protected by copyright. I'm fine with personal uses of them (including use as desktop backgrounds or screensavers on your own computer), but unauthorized commercial use of the image is prohibited by law. Thanks in advance for respecting my copyright!

2. Like all photographs on this website, these images were captured following the strict ethical guidelines described in The Wildlife FIRST! Principles of Photographer Conduct. As such, no baiting or any form of attractant was used and, as always, we attempted to minimize our impact on the ongoing behaviour of the subjects. I strongly encourage all wildlife photographers to always put the welfare of their subjects above the value of their photographs.

3. This image was captured during my Autumn in the Great Bear Exploratory Photo Adventure in early Autumn of 2026. Each year I offer photo tours into various locations on the amazing BC coast, including the Great Bear Rainforest and, every other year, into the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary (to photograph grizzlies, of course!). Details about these trips can be found on the Photo Tours page of this website.

Behind the Camera

Formidable. Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia. September 28, 2026.

Compressed RAW (ARW) format; ISO 2000.

Sony A1 II paired with Sony EF 600mm f4 GM OSS lens. Hand-held from floating Zodiac inflatable boat. OSS on and set to Mode 1. Expand Spot (tracking) AF area mode with subject recognition mode set to Animal/Bird.

1/2000s @ f4; -1.3 stop compensation from multi-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

Formidable. Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia. September 28, 2026.

Initial noise reduction and capture sharpening on the .arw (raw) file using the DeepPRIME XD3 algorithm of DXO PhotoLab 10.1 Elite (using the appropriate camera/lens module).

Subsequent adjustments to the adjusted linear DNG file (exported from PhotoLab) and conversion to 16-bit TIFF file (and JPEG files for web use) - including all global and selective adjustments - made using Capture One Pro (build 16.8). In the case of this image I made no global adjustments. Selective local adjustments performed using Capture One Pro's layers and masking tools. In this case numerous small adjustments and minor tweaks were made on 4 separate layers, with the tweaks being associated with "exposure balancing" and contrast adjustments (such as adjustments to brightness, clarity, highlights, shadows, blacks, etc.).

Photoshop modifications included insertion of the watermark and/or text.

Conservation

Formidable. Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia. September 28, 2026.

General Conservation Status in Canada*: Vulnerable.

While Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) are not technically listed as "Endangered" in Canada, they have been extirpated from most of their historical range. Grizzly Bears are far more sensitive to intrusion/disturbance in their habitat than are Black Bears and are being increasingly forced into marginal habitat by human encroachment. The Great Bear Rainforest along the central and northern coast of British Columbia is one of the last strongholds of the Grizzly Bear in Canada, and even this population is coming under increasing pressure.

On December 18, 2017 the government of British Columbia banned grizzly hunting across the entire province. This major conservation victory came after decades of tireless work by many dedicated conservationists and ecologists and, most importantly, it reflects the opinion of the vast majority of British Columbians. And, it means that AT LEAST while the current government remains in power grizzlies are finally "safe" in British Columbia.

Now that we've at least temporarily won the battle to save grizzlies in BC, it's time to re-focus our efforts toward protecting ALL of BC's carnivores, including Gray Wolves, Black Bears, Cougars, Wolverines, and more! Simply put, there are no ecological, economic, or ethical arguments supporting the trophy hunting of carnivores.

*as listed by Wild Species Canada (wildspecies.ca)