scottwickward

Play Time

These two siblings loved to play! They were constantly looking for a way to enjoy each other.

These two siblings loved to play! They were constantly looking for a way to enjoy each other.
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Apr, 2016

Views

12301

Likes

+2.5k

Awards

Chatter Award

Top Shot Award 22

Contest Finalist in Around The World Photo Contest Digital Camera World

Contest Finalist in Winter Wildlife Photo Contest

Contest Finalist in Wildlife On The Move Photo Contest

Honorable Mention in Bears Photo Contest

Contest Finalist in Bears Photo Contest

Exposure And More!

Contest Finalist in ViewBug HQ Photo Contest 2016

Runner Up in Wildlife In Remote Places Photo Contest

Featured

People's Choice in Two Of The Same Photo Contest

Contest Finalist in Two Of The Same Photo Contest

Contest Finalist in Wildlife In Remote Places Photo Contest

Staff Favorite

Peer Award

+1.5k

Absolute Masterpiece

+214

Top Choice

+199

Superb Composition

+171

Magnificent Capture

+132

Outstanding Creativity

+36

All Star

+35

Superior Skill

+24

Genius

Virtuoso

Emotions

Impressed

+47

Happy

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Categories

Awesome shot

Pure joy!

Platinum

A lovely, pleasing composition. The snow is captured beautifully! Must have been fun...would love to know speed of the shot. Really well done.

Fantastic shot. It must have been amazing to watch.

Being at the right place at the right time with your great technics! Wow!

PRO+

White on white is not easy - you've done well to capture this.

Brilliant shot

Fantastic

PRO

Play time in the snow! Congratulations!

Amazing shot :)

Premium

Fantastic!

Platinum

Totally amazing photo, congratulations Scott:-)

PRO

Fabulous. Congratulations

Awesome shot. I can't imagine what it would be like to be in the moment of things like this happening. You have captured a gorgeous moment in time.
Dave

PRO+

Wonderful image

PRO+

Stunning capture. Love the action and interaction.

Platinum

Very sweet

Amazing!

sublime shot

Great action shot! I would love to photograph these creatures in the wild someday!

Congratulations on your winning photo. Nice...Very Nice

Platinum

Powerful and amazing !!!

Platinum

Can I as where you took this wonderful picture,? was it Churchill Manitoba on Hutson Bay

Congrats !!! stunning shot

Congrats - Superb !!!!

PRO

Fabulous. Congratulations

Fantastic image! Congrats Scott!
I shared on Google+ INTERPHOTO.IT
the best images of the web

A wonderful shot!

Awesome

PRO

Amazing shot there adorable

Excellent photograph!

Beautiful capture.

Platinum

Fantastic

wowwwwwwwwww

Amazing shot!

Amazing photo!!

Amazing

beautiful

Now this is very good.you are very lucky been in the wilds.

PRO+

Wow

The action was captured so perfect

Write a comment

Amazing!

PRO

great shot

stunning capture!! Congrats

Awesome shot!!!

Platinum

What an awsome capture!

See all

Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

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This Big Boy was just taking a break from eating spring greens

This mother and cub were moving across the snow pack of Barrier Island in Northeastern Alaska.

I always pictured this bear with sunglasses and a coca cola bottle

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These two youngsters were playing keep away with this stick. Fun little guys to watch

Separating Haines Alaska from Glacier Bay National Park is the Chilkat Range. This picture was taken in Feb of 2010 and is one of my favorites.

This young polar bear was having a good morning stretch on Barrier Island outside of Kaktovik Alaska

Female eagles are larger than the males as you can see from this photo of a mating pair of bald eagles. The female is on the left. These two were pe

The moon found the perfect place to be as it drifted above Cathedral Peak just outside of Haines Alaska

These to polar bear cubs were sharing a tender moment

This polar bear sow and her cub stand their ground and are watching both directions for unruly males that will try and kill the cub to bring the sow b

The ice is beginning to melt on Chilkoot Lake outside of Haines Alaska. The still water, remaining ice and mountains created a beautiful reflection i

This photo was taken in the fall of 2013 in Kaktovik Alaska

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken on Barrier Island which is a short distance from Kaktovik Alaska. Kaktovik itself is a Inuit village of about 230 that is nestled at the northern tip of ANWR (Artic National Wildlife Range). This area is located in the very far northeastern corner of Alaska, about 60 miles from Canada's Yukon Territory and sits on the Beaufort Sea.

Time

This photo was taken in the morning as were most of the polar bear pictures. Polar bears are nocturnal so they spend most of the day lounging around and sleeping. Early in the morning they are still active and it is the best time for photo's. We would take a jet boat across a lagoon that separates Barter Island, where the town of Kaktovik is, from Barrier Island, where the bears were. We would be out from first light to around noon each day.

Lighting

Shooting polar bears on snow is rather tricky as you are shooting white on white. Experiment with what settings work best for your camera. That is how I approached it. Contrary to what most people think polar bears are not actually white. Their fur is clear and their skin is black. It is how the sunlight reflects off there black skin that causing them to look white.

Equipment

My equipment for this trip was a Nikon D800 with a Nikon 70 to 200 F4 and a Nikon D7100 coupled with a Nikon 200 to 400 F4. No tripods were used as we were in a jet boat cruising the shore of the island. I would be shooting bears coming our way with my 200 to 400 F4 and soon would have to switch cameras because the bears became to close for the big lens. There were times we were as close as 30 feet from these amazing creatures.

Inspiration

I spent a week shooting these bears and during that time I took over 2500 photos. Anytime there was action such as these two cubs playing I was shooting many photos of basically the same scene trying to capture just the right moment. In this case it paid off and I captured the moment. The inspiration to make the trip in the first place came from an article I read in Alaska Magazine. Until that time I had never heard of Kaktovik and after reading that article I knew I had to go. September of 2013 offered me the chance and I took it. Never to look back. It was wonderful

Editing

I use lightroom in conjunction with products from Gavin Seim. I love lightroom as it is user friendly and I can't say enough about Gaven Seim and his presets. I am always looking to bring my images to that next level. Something that makes them pop. Not overly HDRish, just something that still keeps them true to their form but raises the bar enough to make them stand out.

In my camera bag

In my camera bag I have both my D800 and my D7100. I also carry a Nikon 24mm F1.4, Nikon 70 to 200 F4 and my big lens, the 200 to 400 is always in the car. I also carry various filters such as a neutral density filter and a circular polarizer. My tripod is always in my vehicle as well. A shutter release is also a big part of both my landscape and some of my wildlife shots. Always depends on the situation.

Feedback

Kaktovik is an amazing place. Everyone has heard of Churchill and the tundra buggies, but Kaktovik is Churchill on steroids. The amount of bears you will see is incredible. Standing up in the boat one day I counted 55 bears! Of course many were to far away to shoot but the simple fact that I could see that many is amazing. The changing Artic makes getting photo's like this one rather tricky. It is all in the timing. I went the last week of September. We had snow on the ground. Many times though this is not the case and you have polar bears on sandy beaches on the island. Though there is nothing wrong with these photos what one really wants is that picture of the bear in the snow. Because of the demand one can't just watch the weather and decide now is the time to go. You have to book early. I booked my trip in May. To early and you miss the snow. To late and you miss the bears. My best advise is to try the end of September through the middle of October. Be prepared with warm cloths and be ready for an adventure like no other. Don't expect the Hilton in Kaktovik, the Hotel there is very rustic but has a unique charm. I hope all of you can some day enjoy this incredible adventure like I did. It was a trip of a life time!

See more amazing photos, follow scottwickward

scottwickward

scottwickward

Play Time

These two siblings loved to play! They were constantly looking for a way to enjoy each other.

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow scottwickward

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