In the Field

Shakin' in the Surf. Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. May 30, 2008.

When I traveled into the Khutzeymateen Inlet this year I went armed with a "hit list" of images I wanted to capture (while still trying to keep an open mind and open eyes for unexpected scenes). High on my list was a head-on shot of a grizzly shaking its head while wading and/or swimming. I wanted to capture the moment using a relatively slow shutter speed and end up with an image that had tack sharp elements (i.e., the non-moving parts of the bear) and some pleasing motion blurs (i.e., the moving parts of the bear's head). I guessed that a shutter speed of 1/30 to 1/60 second would do the trick...

Up until the final day of our trip I hadn't been presented with the opportunity to capture my head-shaking shot. Come early evening we were watching two male grizzlies sparring on the shoreline when one of them broke off the "battle" and walked into the ocean. I thought this might be my chance...so I quickly positioned myself low (at head level of the bear), focused on the bear, and then realized my camera was "locked" into a much higher shutter speed than I wanted to use (I was using the D3's Auto ISO function to shoot the sparring and had specified a minimum shutter speed of 1/320s). Drat! Given that the action I wanted to capture was already unfolding, I just bit the bullet and started shooting (all the while feeling like an idiot given in that I regularly preach "...always be prepared and anticipate the action" when giving seminars on wildlife photography).

I assumed I missed the shot I wanted and didn't get around to reviewing the images for several days. When I did see the image I found, much to my surprise, that I had captured almost EXACTLY the image I had hoped to. It turned out that my "guess" of using a 1/30s to 1/60s shutter speed was a little off (thankfully). One other expectation I had about the scene differed from reality - I expected that the absolute centre of the shake (and slowest moving part of the head) would be the bear's nose. As it happened it was the bridge of the nose just in front of the bear's eye. In retrospect I wish the eye was slightly sharper, but I'm not complaining! There's always next year...

Behind the Camera

Shakin' in the Surf. Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. May 30, 2008.

Digital Capture; Compressed RAW (NEF) 14-bit format; ISO 320.

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

1/320s @ f5.5; +0.33 stop compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

Shakin' in the Surf. 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 (2 at different exposure settings: -0.75 stops and +0.5 stops) in this case to reduce the highlights and brightness of the water and to draw out shadow detail on the head and throat of the bear.

Further digital corrections on 16-bit TIFF file using Adobe's Photoshop CS3 and Light Crafts LightZone. Adjustments included compositing and masking of all exposure versions. LightZone used to adjust overall tonality of the scene (using the Re-light/Tonemapper tool). Other Photoshop adjustments included selective saturation enhancement and selective sharpening for web output. Note that heavy sharpening was performed on the water droplets in order to "draw them out" from the background.

Conservation

Shakin' in the Surf. 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.