In the Field

Clamming - It's A Dirty, Dirty Job! Khutzeymateen Estuary, British Columbia, Canada. June 15, 2024.

I captured this dirty-faced Grizzly cub during my "Grizzlies of the Khutzeymateen" Instructional Photo Tour in mid-June of 2024. In 2024 we had a lot of mother and cubs to watch and photograph and they gave us a lot of interesting photo ops. This cub (along with its two siblings and mom) happened to spend a lot of time clamming and, as you can see in this photo, he or she got right into it! I'm not sure why this particular cub got caked in mud while clamming (while mother and sibs didn't) - I suppose it's possible that it had developed a new and better way of yanking clams out of the mudflats that the others hadn't figured out yet. But somehow I doubt it! 😉

I captured this image using a Nikon Z 9 paired with a Z 600mm f6.3S PF super-telephoto lens. I had extensively tested this lens prior to going into the Khutzeymateen in 2024, but this was the first time I had used it extensively and intensively in the field for "just shooting". My thoughts on it after shooting it extensively and then processing the resulting shots? I just love it! Optically the lens is great, and it is just so, so "hand-holdable".

And, two further aspects of the lens stood out for me (particularly after I processed hundreds and hundreds of shots taken with it). First, between the IBIS stabilization of the Z 9, the VR on the lens, and how light and well-balanced the lens is, I am blown away at how slow of a shutter speed you can hand-hold this lens at. Of course, we all wish this lens had a maximum aperture of f2.8 (while staying as small as it is), but even with an f6.3 maximum aperture I found I could get sharp shots in very low light with this lens without going up to crazy-high ISO's (because I could shoot successfully at very low shutter speeds).

Second, some have complained about the quality of the out-of-focus zones of the PF lenses. Overall I haven't found "bad bokeh" to be much of a problem with the PF lenses, but I have noticed that the "near" out-of-focus zones (just as you are going from a sharply focused in-focus zone to the out-of-focus zone) aren't "great" on some of the PF lenses (with the Z 800mm PF exhibiting the worst "near out-of-focus" zones). However, I'm finding the Z 600mm has really good out-of-focus zones, including a really good transition from the in-focus to out-of-focus zones. IMHO the Z 600mm f6.3S has the best quality out-of-focus zones out of all the PF lenses.

Here's a larger version (4800 pixel) of this muddy cub:

• Clamming - It's A Dirty, Dirty Job! Download 4800 pixel image (JPEG: 6.1 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 Grizzlies of the Khutzeymateen Instructional Photo Tour in mid June of 2024. Each year I offer trips into the Great Bear Rainforest as well as tours 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

Clamming - It's A Dirty, Dirty Job! Khutzeymateen Estuary, British Columbia, Canada. June 15, 2024.

High Efficiency* Compressed RAW (NEF) format; ISO 1400.

Nikon Z 9 paired with Z Nikkor 600mm f6.3S PF. Hand-held from a floating Zodiac inflatable boat. VR on in Sport mode. Single-point AF area mode.

1/1000s @ f6.3; no compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

Clamming - It's A Dirty, Dirty Job! Khutzeymateen Estuary, British Columbia, Canada. June 15, 2024.

Initial noise reduction and capture sharpening on the .nef (raw) file using the DeepPRIME XD2S algorithm of DXO PhotoLab 8.1 Elite (using the appropriate lens/camera optical 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 Phase One's Capture One Pro 23 (build 16.4.6). In the case of this image the only global adjustments were an overall contrast tweak (using the Levels tool) and a reduction of the Highlights. 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 3 separate layers, with most of the tweaks being associated with "exposure balancing" and contrast adjustments (such as adjustments to clarity, highlights, shadows, etc.).

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

Conservation

Clamming - It's A Dirty, Dirty Job! Khutzeymateen Estuary, British Columbia, Canada. June 15, 2024.

Species Status in Canada*: Special Concern (May 2002).

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 determined by COSEWIC: The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada