In the Field

Surfin' Griz. Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. May 28, 2008.

This was certainly an interesting moment! A group of us were sitting quietly in our Zodiac photographing one very calm young Grizzly Bear that was foraging near the water's edge in the estuary at the top end of Khutzeymateen Inlet. Suddenly the bear literally sprang into the water and swam urgently across the channel. While doing so it swam right by our Zodiac - literally within feet of us. It was going so fast it almost appeared to be surfing! Something - likely a bigger bear - scared this fella half to death (but not so much as to make it spit out the grass it was munching on moments before - if you look closely you can clearly see the grass in the bear's mouth).

Capturing this image was much more a matter of good luck rather than good management. Everything happened so quickly that you pretty much had time only to raise your camera and start firing. There was certainly no time to change lenses or camera settings. About the only thing I had time to do was zoom my lens BACK enough to frame the image in a way I found pleasing. I was REALLY lucky with the exposure - given the preponderance of dark tones in the scene it is common for a camera (left on its own) to over-expose the scene (in an "attempt" to shift the histogram to a more "central" position on the X-axis). In this instance my camera was set to Matrix metering mode (Nikon's multi-segment system) with no exposure compensation. In this instance it was smart enough to not over-expose so much that all the highlights (in the splashing water) were lost. This is LIKELY because Nikon's matrix metering system gives priority to the in-focus elements of a scene (which in this case included a lot of white water).

Processing the image took a little more planning. Thankfully I was shooting RAW images as this scene had a huge brightness range (i.e., dynamic range). Which, in turn, meant a lot of coaxing was needed to squeeze those tones out of the initial file. In this case I had to "extend" the initial exposure by over 2 stops to end up with a final image that approximated what I saw in the field. All the gory processing details can be found under the "At the Computer" tab.

Behind the Camera

Surfin' Griz. Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. May 28, 2008.

Digital Capture; Compressed RAW (NEF) 14-bit format; ISO 400.

Nikon D3 with Nikon 200-400 mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR lens @ 220 mm - handheld. VR turned to "On" and in "Normal" mode.

1/200s @ f5.6; no compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

Surfin' Griz. Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. May 28, 2008.

RAW Conversion to 16-bit TIFF, including first-pass/capture sharpening and exposure compensation using Phase One's Capture One 4. Multiple RAW conversions (3 at different exposure settings: -1.3 stops to darken the calm water and retrieve highlights from the splashing water; 0 stops for the bulk of the bear; and at +0.8 stops to retrieve shadow detail on the sides of the bear's head).

Further digital corrections on 16-bit TIFF file using Adobe's Photoshop CS3. Adjustments included compositing and masking of all exposure versions, selective saturation enhancement and selective sharpening for web output.

Conservation

Surfin' Griz. Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. May 28, 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.