In the Field

Rounding the Bend. Great Bear Rainforest (northern BC coast). October 10, 2008.

I caught this adult grizzly just as it was coming around a corner on a stream on the northern BC coast. As soon as the bear saw us, it froze and gave us a good long stare, completely unaware that at the same time he/she was giving us a classic pose!

The bear was strongly side-lit, and although a little tricky to deal with, side-lighting is one of my favourite types of light. Side-lighting functions extremely well in emphasizing texture and detail - so it can make the beautiful detail of a mammal's coat or the stunning intricacies of a bird's plumage absolutely pop out! And, sidelight can add a strong element of drama to almost any shot.

On the down-side, side-lighting often adds strong shadows to a scene or subject. If I'm dealing with a subject species that I can approach closely and that is tolerant of flashguns (like some perching birds and many rodents, but NEVER bears), I will often add a subtle flash-fill to open up the shadows a little. In this case, flash was out of the equation and I had two shadows to contend with - the deeply shaded forest background and the one on the right side of the bear's face (on left side of the image). I liked the dark background (tho' it complicated the exposure) as it made the bear "pop-out" against it. The shadow on the face? While it could be argued that it adds a little "depth" to the image (a slight 3D effect?), there was really nothing I could do with it anyway, either at the time of exposure or during image processing. So...I just have to live with it...I guess you can't have it all! And, a few folks who've seen this image actually liked the shadow. Go figure.

Cheers...Martin.

Behind the Camera

Rounding the Bend. Great Bear Rainforest (northern BC coast). October 10, 2008.

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

Nikon D3 with AF-S Nikkor 600mm f/4G IF-ED II VR lens supported on Gitzo 1348 carbon fibre tripod with Wimberley head. VR turned to "On" and in "Tripod" mode. Autofocus set to M/a mode.

1/640s @ f9; -2.0 stop compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

Rounding the Bend. Great Bear Rainforest (northern BC coast). October 10, 2008.

RAW Conversion to 16-bit TIFF, including first-pass/capture sharpening, and white balance adjustment using Phase One's Capture One Pro 4.5. Multiple RAW conversions (2 at different exposure settings: -0.35 stops for dark background; +.25 stops on rest of image).

Further digital corrections on 16-bit TIFF file using Adobe's Photoshop CS4. Adjustments included compositing and masking of 2 exposure versions, selective colour saturation, selective curves adjustment and selective sharpening for web output.

Conservation

Rounding the Bend. Great Bear Rainforest (northern BC coast). October 10, 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.