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Sloth Bear
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Sloth Bear



behind the lens badge
cameraNIKON D7100

settings Aperture f/5.6 ISO 6400 Shutter 1/1000 Focal Length 3000/10 

upload_dateMar, 2016

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7 Comments |
terrysigns13
 
terrysigns13 April 26, 2016
Oooooo...this is SPLENDID !!!
aanygraphic
 
aanygraphic May 01, 2016
superbb!
zachsanders
 
zachsanders May 02, 2016
Insane shot i love this
matej007
 
matej007 May 02, 2016
Just great
photosue50
 
photosue50 May 02, 2016
Beautiful
ajmphotographs PRO+
 
ajmphotographs September 14, 2016
this image :o wow
sherrylynnpollett
 
sherrylynnpollett February 21, 2018
Awesome photo!

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was captured at the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium in Toledo, Ohio. My girlfriend adores sloth bears, so we’d passed this habitat several times already looking for this guy with no luck; they’re warm weather animals, and not particularly fond of cold despite their thick, shaggy fur coat. But as we were leaving for the day, we checked in one last time and were lucky enough to find him out braving the snow for a few minutes, and I was able to capture this shot through the glass window of a nearby observation area.

Time

This was taken at 4:28 PM on March 5, 2016. It was obviously snowing pretty hard at the time, and pretty cold.

Lighting

Late March afternoon in Ohio, during a heavy snow...it was not very bright at all, but at least what light did exist was soft and nicely diffused by the clouds and snow. Thankfully, at least this fellow sought out a warmer, brighter area of his habitat when he finally decided to investigate the falling snow!

Equipment

This was shot handheld on a Nikon D7100, using a Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. The bear was moving around trying to stay warm while out in the cold, forcing me to use a faster shutter speed of 1/1000th and widest aperture of f/5.6 at the long end of my lens, while pushing my ISO up to 6400 to compensate.

Inspiration

Well, as I said sloth bears are my girlfriend’s favorite, and they aren’t big fans of cold weather. We go to several different zoos regularly, year-round, and the sloth bears usually prefer to stay indoors when it gets cooler outside. Seeing this guy out in the snow, checking out the white stuff, was a rare opportunity I wasn’t about to pass up!

Editing

I use PhotoShop for all my post-processing, and I love the Topaz Collection of plugins. On this image, the higher ISO made DeNoise a absolute necessity. I also applied selective processing with masked layers, using Clarity to tweak color and contrast; Adjust to bring out more detail in the darkest areas; and Detail to sharpen the image, especially around the bear’s eye and face to maximize the viewer’s connection to the animal.

In my camera bag

Honestly, I don’t carry a bag when I’m out shooting – I’ve found it just gets in my way, and I hate swapping lenses during the day anyway. I take my D7100 body, and commit to either my Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6 or my Sigma 150-500mm f/5.0-6.3 for the day, depending on where I’m shooting. Any extra accessories I need, like spare batteries and SD cards, go in vest pockets. I will often also tuck my versatile little Panasonic LUMIX DMC FZ200 bridge camera in my vest pocket, especially when I have the Sigma lens on my D7100, in case I encounter an interesting subject too close for the Sigma’s minimum focus distance.

Feedback

Whatever camera you choose to use, learn its controls and features inside and out. Practice with it until you can change settings on the fly without having to think about it. When shooting wildlife, whether in a zoo or out in the wild, the animals aren’t going to sit around posing while you fumble with your settings to get the shot! I’ve heard many sides of the debate as to what mode is best for shooting wildlife. Some swear by aperture priority, others say shutter priority, and some insist manual is the only way to go. I believe you should explore the options, and find what works best for you, using your gear. The right choice is the one which gives you the best results! Personally, I prefer shooting manual to retain full control over both shutter speed and aperture, and enable my camera’s auto-ISO feature to help cope with changing conditions.

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