In the Field

Scram! This One's Mine!. Great Bear Rainforest (on northern BC Coast), BC, Canada. October 7, 2011.

Another shot in a series of images I think of as "Active Portraits" (a full discussion of "Active Portraits" can be found right here). If you've ever tried taking a bone from a hungry dog you'll understand what this looks means! Perhaps if the fish was a little fresher I might have considered smooth-talking the bear out of it (and if you believe that...). And on the note of fish freshness - most know that when salmon are running in coastal streams bears congregate to take advantage of the huge energy bonuses they can accrue by snagging a few fish as they swim by. But the vast majority of fish pass by the bears unharmed, only to die upstream after going through their breeding ritual. When the fresh fish are no longer available the bears (and many other animals, including eagles, sea gulls, martens, and countless species of invertebrates) turn their attention to "fishing out" those energy-rich carcasses. For bears, the calories and fat they accumulate through scavenging the dead salmon can make the difference between surviving (or giving birth during) their long winter siesta.

I captured this image using a reasonably low-priced camera (a Nikon D7000) paired with a lens that's owned by thousands of photographers the world over - a 70-200mm zoom. While I sold the D7000 not many months after shooting this image (to clear out the stable for incoming new cameras, including the Nikon D800 and D4), I found it to be extremely usefui in some situations. Which leads to a question I get a lot both by email and when giving seminars:

If top-notch images can be captured with low- to mid-range DSLR's, why spend thousands more to buy professional camera bodies (and lenses)?

Without getting into the details of comparing specific cameras two generalities explain why I tend toward using mostly top-of-the-line equipment...

1. When the going gets tough... As a professional nature/wildlife photographer I (and very likely most other serious field shooters) often use my cameras in very hostile conditions - rain, snow, mud, etc. And, while I'm quite careful about looking after my gear, at the end of the day they're tools, not jewels. My personal experience is that lower end cameras simply don't hold up well and it makes little sense for me to spend thousands of dollars (and weeks of time) getting to a place like where this image was shot just to have my camera fail.

2. Dramatically fewer limitations in the field. Shooting images of your daughters birthday party at f8 and ISO 100? Either an introductory level DSLR or pro camera will take about the same quality image. BUT, in a tough field situation the limitations imposed on you by your camera gear - be it ISO performance, frame rate, buffer size, AF performance with a wider variety of lenses, the ability to shoot sharp images wide open at larger apertures, etc. - are dramatically extended compared to "lesser" cameras. It's in tough field shooting conditions where you really see why you spent the big bucks on the pro gear.

Is it worth it for YOU to spend thousands and thousands of dollars for the best-of-the-best gear? That's your call. But don't let anyone say I didn't give you at least two solid reasons to take to your spousal accounting department when you're trying to convince him/her that you just NEED that new "latest and greatest" lens or camera body! You're welcome. ;-)

NOTE: At the time of this writing (20 February 2012), I have one spot remaining on my "Grizzlies of the Khutzeymateen" Instructional Photo Tour that runs in late May 2012. For more details about this amazing photo adventure - or any of my other photo tours - just check out the Photo Tours page of this website! Or...for the Khutzeymateen Grizzlies trip just download this brochure (PDF: 2.0 MB).

Behind the Camera

Scram! This One's Mine!. Great Bear Rainforest (on northern BC Coast), BC, Canada. October 7, 2011.

Digital Capture; RAW 14-bit format; ISO 160.

Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VRII lens @ 135mm (EFL of 203mm) - hand-held. VR on in "Normal" mode.

1/160s @ f2.8; -1 stop compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

Scram! This One's Mine!. Great Bear Rainforest (on northern BC Coast), BC, Canada. October 7, 2011.

RAW Conversion to 16-bit TIFF, including first-pass/capture sharpening using Phase One's Capture One Pro 6. Three exposure variants covering a 1.0 stop total range, from -0.2 stops below original capture (to tame hot spots on the fish) through to +0.8 stops from original exposure (to bring out shadow detail on parts of the bear's face).

Further digital corrections on resulting 16-bit TIFF files using Adobe's Photoshop CS5 and Light Craft's Lightzone. Photoshop adjustments including compositing the exposure variants (layering and masking), selective colour desaturation, and selective sharpening for web output. Final tone tweaking performed using tonemapper/re-light in Lightzone.

Conservation

Scram! This One's Mine!. Great Bear Rainforest (on northern BC Coast), BC, Canada. October 7, 2011.

Ten percent of the revenue generated by this image will be donated to Pacific Wild*

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.

The region this image was shot in is, at the time of this writing (December 20, 2011), facing a new and potentially catastrophic threat. There is a proposal to bring oil super-tankers through the narrow and treacherous channels of the Great Bear Rainforest. Any mishap - such as the one that sunk the Queen of the North ferry on March 22, 2006 - could result in an oilspill with disasterous consequences. Please visit the "No Pipeline/No Tankers Action Page" on Pacific Wild's website for suggestions on what YOU can do to help stop the tankers and/or sign the petition to Stop Oil Tankers. Thanks - this one is worth the effort to fight!

*Pacific Wild is a non-profit conservation organization that is committed to:

1. Defending wildlife and their habitat on Canada's Pacific coast by developing and implementing solution-based conservation strategies. Pacific Wild supports innovative research, public education, community outreach and awareness to achieve the goal of lasting environmental protection in the lands and waters of the Great Bear Rainforest.

2. Working with a diverse array of communities, First Nations, groups and individuals to ensure that biodiversity protection is at the forefront of land and marine use decisions.

3. Mobilizing a concerned global citizenry to achieve large-scale wildlife protection.

Natural Art Images supports the efforts of Pacific Wild and encourages you to do the same.

**as determined by COSEWIC: The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada