In the Field

Bold. Bashful. Beautiful. Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary (northern BC coast). May 31, 2012.

Like most wildlife photographers, I like to capture images that stand out from the crowd. And like many wildlife photographers, I have made the choice to shoot only naturally-occurring (wild, free-ranging, non-baited) subjects. These last two sentences - the desire to capture attention-grabbing wildlife images but limiting myself to photographing only wild subjects, can make life challenging (to say the least). But, it's one reason I absolutely love shooting in the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary in northern British Columbia - the grizzlies of the Khutzeymateen are totally wild, but because they have not been abused by humans in decades, they go about ALL their daily activities in full view. It doesn't really bother me that the area is about as pristine as you can get, and is very tightly controlled (under 200 humans per year get in!).

One of the great things about working with bears that are non-abused and have been dealt with very carefully by the two guides allowed into the area (such as never being fed) is that they give the visiting photographers the privilege and chance of "working" with them almost as though they are models. So... compared to shooting in most other locations it is relatively easy - if one is patient and a careful observer - to capture images that show their individual personalities. Which is one great way to make your images stand out from the crowd and be more than just an image "of a" bear. And to capture images that, in today's competitive marketplace, actually sell! ;-)

Bears are like humans or most other animals - individuals vary in personality, including in how calm they are around humans. One rule of thumb that tends to hold in the Khutzeymateen is that adult bears tend to be calmer around photographers than their cubs are, especially if the cubs haven't seen humans before. While this female was bold and assertive around other bears (and, at times appeared almost "proud"), she was amazingly accepting of us. Her cubs (she had two of them) were initially hyper-cautious around us - the first time we saw them they just high-tailed it. Within a few days they began calming down, but were always more bashful than Ma. To me this image absolutely (and accurately) portrays the personality of these particular bears - Ma is bold and proud, Junior is bashful, wary, but darned curious. And both are beautiful creatures.

NOTE: This image was captured during one of my "Grizzlies of the Khutzeymateen" photo tours in 2012. Each year I offer trips into two different parts of the Great Bear Rainforest. Each spring we visit the northern portion of the Great Bear Rainforest during my two "Grizzlies of the Khutzeymateen" photo tours. And each autumn we travel through the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest during my two 7-day "Into the Great Bear Rainforest" photo tours. Details about these trips can be found on the Photo Tours page of this website.

Behind the Camera

Bold. Bashful. Beautiful. Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary (northern BC coast). May 31, 2012.

Digital Capture; Compressed RAW (NEF) 14-bit format; ISO 720.

Nikon D4 paired with Nikkor 400mm f2.8 VRII prime lens; hand-held from floating Zodiac. VR on and in normal mode.

1/400s @ f5.6; No compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting. Auto ISO engaged with shutter speed set to "Auto" (1/focal length of lens).

At the Computer

Bold. Bashful. Beautiful. Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary (northern BC coast). May 31, 2012.

RAW Conversion to 16-bit TIFF, including first-pass/capture sharpening and light noise reduction using Capture One Pro version 6. Two raw variants (processed from raw) differing by a total of 0.5 stops in exposure.

Further digital corrections on resulting 16-bit TIFF files using Adobe's Photoshop CS6 and Light Craft's Lightzone. Photoshop adjustments included compositing the raw conversion exposure variants, selective minor tweaks to exposure, selective colour saturation and desaturation, and selective sharpening for web output. Final tone tweaking performed using tonemapper/re-light tool in Lightzone.

Conservation

Bold. Bashful. Beautiful. Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary (northern BC coast). May 31, 2012.

Ten percent of the revenue generated by this image will be donated to Raincoast*.

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 (April 22, 2013), 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.

*The Raincoast Conservation Society (and Foundation) is an effective and efficient organization that has been fighting for protection of this unique habitat. If you are looking for a meaningful way to contribute to the conservation of this amazing ecosystem, Raincoast will provide maximal "bang" for your conservation dollars.

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