Black bear/ struttin Tom

[jamn4ex]

Heres a couple from recent outing in the mtns.




Thanks for viewing.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Awesome bird photo; that is just crazy looking!

How far were you from the bear? I am phobic of bears

[Bob44]

Both nice! The strutin tom is awesome!

[jamn4ex]

I beleive I was a good 9 iron from the bear, maybe 130 yds. I often get closer but not on purpose, meaning when I see them thats usually as close as I go. Now the turkey I was probably 40- 50 yds from .(both pics taken with my 400mm). Most of the time I cant get that close to the turkeys. I have a shot or two of him gobbling I need to do some pp on then Ill post . I was sitting in a depression in a field, and he walked right up towards me. I threw the only call I know out there (which is an owl hoot) and he started gobbling and puffing up.

[Steve S]

I really like the turkey, james. My question is , why the fake blurr, with such a nice background? You would think it would be better to have it all in focus.

[terrib]

The turkey photo is really good! The bear is a keeper cause, well, it's a bear. Lot's of people never see those outside of a zoo.

[BCrose]

I really like the turkey, james. My question is , why the fake blurr, with such a nice background? You would think it would be better to have it all in focus.

hmmm...shot with a 400mm at f/5.6. I may look like fake to you but I have many shots like this with the 400mm (Nikon) that look very similar.

[Steve S]

hmmm...shot with a 400mm at f/5.6. I may look like fake to you but I have many shots like this with the 400mm (Nikon) that look very similar.

He said it was shot 40 to 50 yards, that's why i questioned it. Even so, with such a great background, I still think it would be worth showing it. Still a very good shot as is.

[jamn4ex]

You Steve are very astute. I used an 8% blur on the background. just the top 2/3rds I was thinking of trying to remove the fence lines, The blur did not help any towards that the section I blurred was really out of focus anyway. I probably shouldve removed the blur. I didnt touch the foreground.

[NorthernFocus]

Nice shots. The turkey is cool strutting amongst all those flowers.

[Steve S]

You Steve are very astute. I used an 8% blur on the background. just the top 2/3rds I was thinking of trying to remove the fence lines, The blur did not help any towards that the section I blurred was really out of focus anyway. I probably shouldve removed the blur. I didnt touch the foreground.

He's kind of in a little ditch, isn't he. The foreground is alot closer, now that i look at it again. Still a very nice shot james. They usually strut in the same fields , every day. If you waited on him, i bet you could get one without the fence. Can't get a better background , with a field of yellow flowers. (it wouldn't matter what you could find in that field, it would be a great shot)

[Brownbear]

Gorgeous... with the strutting bird being my favourite.

[Shadowman]

Nice images.

[Downrigger]

Great - both. Especially that Tom. Mother nature over the top.

[Bobobird]

Turkey - +5
Bear - +4.9

[rpcrowe]

I was wading with a guide in the Kenai River in Alaska, fly fishing for salmon. There was a cut bank about eight foot high to our back. A couple of large stones were dislodged from the top of the bank, landing in the river next to us. The guides eyes opened wide as he looked up. A brown bear would have been the only animal big enough to dislodge the stones.

Luckily, we didn't see the bear and he or she did not see us or had no interest in us. It was an exciting couple of minutes though!

I really like the gobbler picture. They are elusive birds and it is difficult to get them with their tail feathers fanned out like this...

[jamn4ex]

I dont try to approach bears. When I first see them thats usually as close as I get. I go out alot by myself maybe if I was with a large group I would get closer, but when I go out with others I dont usually see bear.
As for the gobbler he would gobble then puff up every ten minutes... with the help of a soft Owl hoot.
Anyway just wanted to thank all of you for your comments and continued support, It really means a lot to me.