In the Field

My Moss, My Ferns, My Bed! Great Bear Rainforest (northern BC coast), Canada. October 8, 2007.

As a wildlife photographer, sometimes you just get lucky! This is one of those cases. This adult female grizzly is a great subject - we've come to know her quite well over the last few years. This day we had been quietly following her (from just offshore in a Zodiac) under cloudy skies and with light rain. Suddenly, she started moving to her favourite bed that was on a beautifully moss and fern covered rock. We couldn't believe our luck! And it got better - suddenly the rain stopped and the cloud thinned right out (just enough cloud to kill the heavy shadows but also thin enough that we actually had a little light to work with). We shot images of her for several minutes...shortly before we left she gave me this look, which really said to me "shoot your images, but keep away from MY BED!"

Behind the Camera

My Moss, My Ferns, My Bed! Great Bear Rainforest (northern BC coast), Canada. October 8, 2007.

Digital Capture; Uncompressed RAW (NEF) format; ISO 200.

Nikon D2Xs with Nikon 200mm f/2G ED-IF AF-S VR lens (300 mm equivalent with digital conversion factor) - handheld. VR turned to "On" and in "Normal" mode.

1/250s @ f5.6; -0.67 stop compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

My Moss, My Ferns, My Bed! Great Bear Rainforest (northern BC coast), Canada. October 8, 2007.

RAW Conversion to 16 bit TIFF, including first-pass sharpening and exposure compensation using Phase One's C1 Pro. Multiple RAW conversions (2 at different exposure settings) in this case to adjust shadow and highlight detail (see below).

Further digital correction on 16-bit TIFF file using Adobe's Photoshop CS3 and LightZone 3. Minor tonal adjustments performed in LightZone (using the ToneMapper/Relight tool). Photoshop adjustments included compositing and masking of two exposure vesions (primarily to retrieve shadow detail on the bear's face), selective saturation enhancement and desaturation (to reduce and correct the "glow" of green moss and ferns), and selective sharpening for web output.

Conservation

My Moss, My Ferns, My Bed! Great Bear Rainforest (northern BC coast), Canada. October 8, 2007.

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 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 Grizzly Bears in Canada, go to: http://www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca and search under "Grizzly Bears".

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