Brown bear cubs playing with willow tree
Kinak Bay, Katmai, Alaska
Kinak Bay, Katmai, Alaska
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Oct, 2015Views
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Awards
Runner Up in Alaska The Wild Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Alaska The Wild Photo Contest
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Behind The Lens
Location
My photo of two grizzly cubs by willow tree was taken in Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Me, my friend and our guide camped out there for twelve days and encountered lots and lots of bears. One big female bear actually used to sleep just about 20 meters from our tents. Here she is: https://www.viewbug.com/photo/59128421.Time
We had been trailing upstream during this cloudy morning and suddenly we saw a mama bear with three cubs. She was a very good mum and kept a careful lookout for male bears and other dangers for her cubs. Apparently, she didn’t think our trio was any danger to her trio so she let us get quite close and watch the cubs play.Lighting
Since there was no hard sunlight this morning I didn’t have to worry about shadows and backlight. As two of the cubs started to try to bend this willow tree I could just point and shoot.Equipment
I used a Canon EOS-1D X and EF300mm f/2.8L IS II USM for this photo. Unlike most wildlife photographers I never use a tripod. I feel I am more flexible without it (or rather – I have never learned how to use one efficiently).Inspiration
This was my third bear expedition and I had started to understand what I wanted to catch. I have seen so many marvelous bear pictures, often bear catching fish, hunting fish or engaged in quarrel with another bear. I found that the pictures I liked the most were calm pictures of bear daily life when not hunting or quarreling, like portraits with eye contact.Editing
This picture didn’t need to much post processing, just some tuning of the white balance and a little contrast and sharpening.In my camera bag
On wildlife expeditions I bring two cameras and three lenses. I use a Canon 1dx and a Canon 5d MkIII. I usually mount a 300mm 2.8 or a 70-200 2.8 and a 16-35 2.8 to be able to cover all needs, from close ups to wide angle. As you can imagine this weighs a lot and requires some space. I would love to bring more, but since I want to carry my gear with me and not check it when flying, I have developed a deceiving casual look on my face when standing at the check in desk, trying my best to look as if my backpack is not heavy (or big) at all. Since I am not the tallest or biggest person around, quite the opposite actually, this is a hell of an act.Feedback
I can strongly recommend the use of two cameras. Both due to redundancy if one fails and due to the fact that it isn’t advisable to change lenses in moist, dusty or windy places (or all three at once). I experienced camera failure a couple of years ago in a rain forest – it was like sitting in a shower – and I was really lucky the other camera had better heavy-duty capabilities.
