In the Field

Of Two Minds. Khutzeymateen Inlet, Great Bear Rainforest, BC, Canada. May 25, 2017.

Ya gotta love it when bears are so calm around you that they feel comfortable enough to lay down and nod off! This female grizzly actually had 3 cubs but, as is so often the case, one of them seemed to "need" to be always within a few feet of mom (and the other two were much more comfortable exploring the terrain a little further away). Here mom's "shadow" cub watched mom go up on this large rock in the intertidal zone and decided that she just had to sleep up there too! I loved the overall scene that resulted - it was just so...well...Khutzeymateen!

I captured this shot on the FIRST day of our 2017 Khutzeymateen Instructional Photo Tour. At the time I was experimenting with a new combination of gear (Nikon D500 with Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 Sport) that I guessed might be almost perfectly suited to the conditions (overall lighting, average distance to subject, etc.) in the Khutzeymateen. Of course, you only get so many photo opportunities like this and you don't want to blow them...so I have to admit that I had the usual "apprehension" about experimenting with new gear combinations in this situation. But, by that evening (when I had a chance to quickly review my shots for the day) I became convinced that my expectations for this camera and lens combination were spot on and I could look forward to getting some great results with it over the coming days...

Here's a larger (2400 pixel) version of this calming scene:

• Of Two Minds: Download 2400 pixel image (JPEG: 2.2 MB)

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

1. This image was captured during one of my "Grizzlies of the Khutzeymateen" photo tour in the spring of 2017. Each year I offer trips into two different parts of the Great Bear Rainforest as well as one to photograph aquatic mammals and oceanscapes near the northern tip of Vancouver Island. And, in selected years, I also offer photo tours to locations to capture other highly sought-after subjects, such as various boreal owl species and wildlife of Canada's Arctic. Details about these trips can be found on the Photo Tours page of this website.

2. This image - in all resolutions - is 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!

3. Like all wildlife photographs on this website, this image was captured following the strict ethical guidelines described in The Wildlife FIRST! Principles of Photographer Conduct. I encourage all wildlife photographers to always put the welfare of their subjects above the value of their photographs.

Behind the Camera

Of Two Minds. Khutzeymateen Inlet, Great Bear Rainforest, BC, Canada. May 25, 2017.

Digital Capture; Compressed RAW (NEF) 14-bit format; ISO 1000.

Nikon D500 paired with Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 Sport lens @ 270mm (for an EFL of 405mm). Hand-held from moving Zodiac. OS on and in "OS1" mode, with OS1 stabilization customized to Moderate View mode; AF customized to Fast Priority AF.

1/400s @ f5; no compensation from "recommended" matrix-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

Of Two Minds. Khutzeymateen Inlet, Great Bear Rainforest, BC, Canada. May 25, 2017.

RAW Conversion to 16-bit TIFF using Phase One's Capture One Pro 10. Four raw variants (different versions of a single raw capture) processed, with the variants differing in exposure settings (0.5 stop total difference between the variants), shadow recovery and highlight retrieval settings, and noise reduction settings.

Further digital corrections on resulting 16-bit TIFF files using Adobe's Photoshop CC 2017 and Light Crafts Lightzone. Photoshop adjustments included compositing (blending) of the four output files from the raw converter, very minor exposure tweaks, and final selective sharpening for web output. Final tone-tweaking performed using LightZone's "tonemapper" tool.

Conservation

Of Two Minds. Khutzeymateen Inlet, Great Bear Rainforest, BC, Canada. May 25, 2017.

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