In the Field

One Gorgeous Bear! Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. May 30, 2008.

At the risk of sounding like a bit of a pervert, grizzly bears vary dramatically in appearance and "attractiveness". Not only are most of them quite easy to distinguish and recognize, but some of them are much "better looking" than others. I'm not alone in feeling this - virtually everyone who saw this bear agreed that she was one of the prettiest bears they had ever seen. I wonder if the male grizzlies thought so too?

I make no bones about the fact that I tend to like simple, clean images (as opposed to cluttered ones). The image above is the type of image I like to capture - the subject is sharp enough to stand out from the less sharp background, but there's still enough detail in the background (and foreground) to establish "context". And, of course, the subject is doing something - in this case she's sampling the air for scents (presumably to help her establish that no danger was lurking nearby). While it IS possible to make images too simple and stark, it's far easier to have them overly cluttered. So remember this: it's almost always a good idea to simplify your composition - SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY...

Behind the Camera

One Gorgeous Bear! Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. May 30, 2008.

Digital Capture; Compressed RAW (NEF) 14-bit format; ISO 500.

Nikon D3 with Nikon 200 mm f/2G ED-IF AF-S VR lens paired with a 1.4x TC-14EII teleconverter (280 mm EFL) - handheld. VR turned to "On" and in "Normal" mode.

1/200s @ f8; +0.33 stop exposure compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

One Gorgeous Bear! Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. May 30, 2008.

RAW Conversion to 16-bit TIFF, including first-pass/capture sharpening, exposure compensation, and slight shadow/highlight adjustment using Phase One's Capture One 4. Multiple RAW conversions (3 at different exposure settings: -0.33 stops; 0 stops; +0.33 stops) in this case to darken the highlighted water (-.33 stop exposure) and lighten up the shadows on the head and front legs of the bear (+.33 stops). Foreground at 0 compensation.

Further digital corrections on 16-bit TIFF file using Adobe's Photoshop CS3 and Light Crafts LightZone. Photoshop adjustments included compositing and masking of all exposure versions, selective saturation enhancement and selective sharpening for web output. LightZone used to adjust overall tonality of the scene (using the Re-light/Tonemapper tool).

Conservation

One Gorgeous Bear! Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. May 30, 2008.

Ten percent of the revenue generated by this image will be donated to The Raincoast Conservation Foundation.

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 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.

For more information on the status of Brown (Grizzly) Bears in Canada, go to: http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca and search under "Grizzly Bears"

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