Just Out of Reach
Mother grizzly bear in Alaska fishing for salmon. She had three cubs who were waiting patiently on a bank on the other side of the river....
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Mother grizzly bear in Alaska fishing for salmon. She had three cubs who were waiting patiently on a bank on the other side of the river.
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May, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in Southeast Alaska. I stayed in the area for 5 days watching grizzly and black bears fishing for salmon.Time
This is one of my favorite images from that trip! Since it was early in the salmon run (June 23), the bear activity was sporadic at best, but still a thrill when they came around. This was the only grizzly that I observed during the whole trip and she had three cubs. I ran into them on the trail several times and always kept a safe distance. Because I was constantly making noise by clapping and chanting "hey bear", she was never surprised. She was a good fisherman (how else would you say that?) and most of the time she was successful. I managed to capture in this image one of the occasions when she was not successful the salmon lived to see another day.Lighting
This area of Alaska is a rainforest and for most of the trip it was overcast and raining. There were times when the sun would shine through but during the time this image was created, it was overcast and lightly raining on and off. During the lull in bear action, I constantly checked my settings and/or changed them to accommodate the light at the time. I typically kick my ISO up so that I can have higher shutter speed and "stop" the action and adjust my f-stop or SS based on conditions.Equipment
This was shot with a Nikon D800 with a Nikkor 400mm f/2.8 lens attached. Although I do use a tripod when I can, because of the awkward position (me shooting down on the bear from above), I was hand-holding in this particular image.Inspiration
I'm always inspired by wildlife and capturing moments or expressions that are unique and exciting. I have a special interest in bears and particularly brown bears in Alaska. They are my favorite subject to observe and photograph and I love sharing those images with people that can't see them in person. My goal through my photography is to change the perception that many people hold that bears are always aggressive toward people.Editing
I usually have my camera on auto white balance but I find that in certain situations, it doesn't always capture the color the way my eye remembers it. I usually adjust it in post processing, as well as bring up shadows and tone down whites. In this case, I also adjusted the contrast and applied a warming filter.In my camera bag
I typically carry two camera bodies and three or four lenses. I carry the extra body mostly as a backup but it works well to have two different size lenses attached to each body because the shooting situation is very fluid and changes frequently with wildlife. Normally, I would put the camera body with the heaviest lens on a tripod and then be able to move around with a smaller lens as needed. I now have a nice zoom lens with a good reach and that helps me be more mobile.Feedback
Please learn about the wildlife you seek to capture before going into the field. Learn what signs they exhibit when they are stressed and avoid putting them in any situation that might result in injury to either yourself or the animal. Respect their space - you are a visitor. Take a variety of lenses for different situations you might encounter and if you are going into a remote area, take an extra camera body, extra batteries and extra memory cards. A solar powered charger is always a plus in remote areas as well. Have fun!
