In the Field

Kissed by the Light. Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary (northern BC coast), Canada. May 30, 2011.

I captured this image of a grizzly cub coming down to drink at sunset near the end of one of my Khutzeymateen photo tours in 2011. It represented a "breakthrough" moment which we had been hoping to see for about 5 days. This cub, along with its sibling, were exceptionally wary and distrustful of us, even though their mother was calm and relaxed when we were around. Day-by-day the cubs had been becoming slightly more comfortable with us, and on this evening they finally let down their guard and accepted us. About five minutes before this cub came to the water's edge, mom had come down to get a drink and, after doing so, "woofed" at her reluctant cubs until they finally (and painfully slowly!) made their way to the water's edge to grab their final drink of the day before bedding down. It was a special treat for all of us on our final night of our photo tour. To say it was an incredible way to end things off is a huge understatement!

I loved how the low-angle sun illuminated the bear's left eye (right side of the image), especially how it picked up lashes and hairs surrounding the eye. The low, low angle I shot the image from was accomplished from extended my body over the pontoon of the Zodiac I was in (my camera and 400mm lens was only inches above the water's surface when I released the shutter on this one).

NOTE: This image was captured during one of my "Grizzlies of the Khutzeymateen" photo tours in 2011. 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

Kissed by the Light. Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary (northern BC coast), Canada. May 30, 2011.

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

Nikon D3s paired with Nikkor 400mm f2.8 VRII prime lens - hand-held from floating Zodiac. VR on and in normal mode.

1/250s @ f8; -0.33 stop compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

Kissed by the Light. Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary (northern BC coast), Canada. May 30, 2011.

RAW Conversion to 16-bit TIFF, including first-pass/capture sharpening using Capture One Pro version 6. Three raw variants (processed from raw) differing by a total of 1.0 stops in total 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

Kissed by the Light. Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary (northern BC coast), Canada. May 30, 2011.

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 (May 20, 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