In the Field

Green, Green, Khutzeymateen. Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. May 29, 2009.

The Khutzeymateen Inlet is one of the world's wilderness treasures. It's home to between 50 and 60 Grizzly Bears (with many more passing through on a regular basis). Because the innermost reaches of the inlet are off-limits to hunters (and the general public), and because the two outfitters that are permitted to take visitors into the sanctuary are exceptionally respectful of the inhabitants of the inlet, the bears are exceptionally gentle. The bears themselves offer visitors with a highly unique experience - they literally allow the few humans they encounter to share all aspects of their lives with them - the bears feed, play, sleep, mate, spar, and do "all things bear" right in front of you! Go to the Khutzeymateen in the spring (when the bears are feeding on the rapidly growing grasses and sedges) and you'll find yourself in one of the most lush and green realms on planet earth. Add a beautiful brown grizzly bear to the green, green Khutzeymateen and you have all the ingredients that wildlife photographers dream of!

For me this shot literally screams "Khutzeymateen!" This is a mature male grizzly and I shot this while he was in the presence of a receptive female bear. I loved the simplicity of the scene - simply a spectacular grizzly up to its neck in green sedges. I chose to use a long telephoto lens and shot with a nearly wide open aperture to soften the background into a pleasing green blur. While I normally try to avoid having two out-of-focus zones in a single image (I don't find that it looks too natural and I've always thought that having two focus gradients in a single image is a bit too complex visually for my taste), in this case I think the homogeneity of the foreground and background supports the dual out-of-focus zones.

This image was captured during my annual "Grizzlies of the Khutzeymateen" Instructional Photo Tour in the spring of 2009. If you're interested in joining me on one of my photo tours into the Great Bear Rainforest, check out the details on my "Photo Tours" page. My Instructional Photo Tours into the Great Bear Rainforest are run in conjunction with Ocean Light II Adventures - they offer a number of amazing adventure tours (including top-notch bear-viewing tours as well as tours of exploration of the Queen Charlotte Islands) and I highly recommend them!

Behind the Camera

Green, Green, Khutzeymateen. Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. May 29, 2009.

Digital Capture; Compressed RAW (NEF) 14-bit format; ISO 560.

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.

1/125s @ f5; -0.33 stop compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting (to preserve highlights along the top edge of the bear's head)

At the Computer

Green, Green, Khutzeymateen. Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. May 29, 2009.

RAW Conversion to 16-bit TIFF, including first-pass/capture sharpening using Phase One's Capture One Pro 5. Three RAW conversions at different exposure settings. Exposure settings of 0 stops (for background and foreground) through to +0.5 stops (to recover shadow detail on the right side of the bear's face).

Further digital corrections on 16-bit TIFF file using Adobe's Photoshop CS4 and Light Craft's LightZone. Photoshop adjustments included compositing and masking of 3 exposure versions, selective saturation and de-saturation of colours, and selective sharpening for web output. Final tonemapping, balancing and tweaking performed using the Tonemapper/Re-light tool in LightZone.

Conservation

Green, Green, Khutzeymateen. Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC, Canada. May 29, 2009.

Ten percent of the revenue generated by this image will be donated to Pacific Wild*

Species Status in Canada**: Special Concern (May 2002).

This image was captured in the Khutzeymateen Inlet - Canada's only Grizzly Bear sanctuary. The majority of the Great Bear Rainforest remains unprotected, and 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.

*Pacific Wild is a non-profit conservation organization that is committed to:

1. Defending wildlife and their habitat on CanadaÕs Pacific coast by developing and implementing solution-based conservation strategies. Pacific Wild supports innovative research, public education, community outreach and awareness to achieve the goal of lasting environmental protection in the lands and waters of the Great Bear Rainforest.

2. Working with a diverse array of communities, First Nations, groups and individuals to ensure that biodiversity protection is at the forefront of land and marine use decisions.

3. Mobilizing a concerned global citizenry to achieve large-scale wildlife protection.

Natural Art Images supports the efforts of Pacific Wild and encourages you to do the same.

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