In the Field

Always the Eye. Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. June 1, 2010.

This is a shot I captured during my annual "Grizzlies of the Khutzeymateen" Instructional Photo Tour in the spring of 2010. It's here for a few reasons...

First, I Iike it! Between that rich reflection, that great front left paw, and that ever-present watchful eye (still watching us, even while drinking), it works for me. But most of all, I love that eye. Many of the bears in the Khutzeymateen are tolerant of five-legged uprights (think 2 human legs and 3 tripod legs) and some, like this one, seem to even trust humans. But, that trust has a limit. The bears DO go about their everyday activities with a small number of humans nearby, but they almost never take their eyes off of them. Respect the bears, give them their distance and space, and they will respect you. But you just can't take them for granted or "push them" - they see and notice everything. Cool bears, but still very wild bears...

Second, this image is one MAJOR rule-breaker that no one could have thought of capturing a few short years ago! Think of it: heavy overcast skies with light rain; 400mm lens with 2x teleconverter (800mm effective focal length); hand-held at 1/250s at f11; shot at ISO 2200. While some of the technology used to capture this image currently resides in the atmospherically high price-range (particularly the D3s and the 400mm f2.8 VR lens), in a year or two (at the most), much of this technology will trickle down into the price ranges that enthusiasts can justify shelling out. I can't think of a time when photography was more exciting - we can now dream about - and capture - shots that would have been totally impossible just a year or two ago. Talk about cool!

NOTE: This image was captured in a region of British Columbia known as "The Great Bear Rainforest". I offer both instructional photo tours and "photo op only" photo tours into the Great Bear Rainforest each spring and autumn. If you're interested in more information about one of these tours, details are available on the Photo Tours page of this website!

Behind the Camera

Always the Eye. Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. June 1, 2010.

Digital Capture; RAW 14-bit format; ISO 2200.

Nikon D3s with Nikkor 400mm f2.8 VR lens paired with Nikon TC-20EIII 2x teleconverter (800mm EFL) - hand-held. VR on and set to "Normal" mode.

1/250s @ f11; no compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting of camera.

At the Computer

Always the Eye. Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. June 1, 2010.

RAW Conversion to 16-bit TIFF, including first-pass/capture sharpening using Phase One's Capture One Pro 5. Three RAW conversions at different exposure settings. Exposure settings of -1.5 stops (to reduce brightness of reflections in foreground water and for the background vegetation); -0.5 stops for most portions of the bear's coat; +1.0 stops for darker portions of the bear's face (to draw out shadow detail).

Further digital corrections on 16-bit TIFF file using Adobe's Photoshop CS5 and Light Craft's LightZone. Photoshop adjustments included compositing and masking of 3 exposure versions, selective saturation of colours and selective sharpening for web output. Final tonemapping and tweaking performed with LightZone use the (tonemapper/re-light tool). No noise reduction in post-processing (aside from "automatic" noise reduction during RAW conversion).

Conservation

Always the Eye. Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. June 1, 2010.

Ten percent of the revenue generated by this image will be donated to Raincoast*.

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.

In a great first step towards ending the hunting of carnivores throughout BC the Raincoast Conservation Foundation has developed a program designed to protect ALL carnivores within the Great Bear Rainforest. Details about this program can be found on this page on Raincoast's website. Check it out and, better yet, make a donation to help Raincoast purchase the remaining commercial hunting tenures in the Great Bear!

*The Raincoast Conservation Society (and Foundation) is an effective and efficient organization that has been fighting for protection of this unique habitat. If you are looking for a meaningful way to contribute to the conservation of this amazing ecosystem, Raincoast will provide maximal "bang" for your conservation dollars.

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