Great Bear Rain Forest

[Aeros]

Bear1487 by Aeros4, on Flickr

Bear13 58 by Aeros4, on Flickr

Bear1506 by Aeros4, on Flickr

Bear1652_1 by Aeros4, on Flickr

Bear1661 by Aeros4, on Flickr

[kap55]

Really nice set. First three are great. Last two are good shots, but I'm not fond of the processing.

[dje]

Good shots Richard, well captured. I have to say that I too see something strange about 4 and 5. Can't quite put my finger on it , maybe too much sharpening with too big a radius ?

Dave

[Aeros]

Really nice set. First three are great. Last two are good shots, but I'm not fond of the processing.

There's a back story to the last two. I have had a variety of responses to these PP images. I was sitting in the blind minding my own business, when a comment about my 8oomm set up was given..."what are you going to do with that rig if a bear walks out right in front of you. I was distracted and intimidated by this comment and removed my 2x TC and stepped back to 400 mm. I was so distracted by the comment I forgot that I was already set up for closer shots with my MF 645 with a 25mm lens. All I had to say was .."I will shoot it with this" Later a very rare Spirit Bear showed up but very far up the river, I needed every mm of the 800 but had removed the 2x TC. As a consequence in post I very heavily cropped the images which resulted in the "painted" look, the same happened to a fellow shooter who also shot at 400mm with the same cropping he got the same results.

I don't mind this look as I am firstly a painter before a photographer, this look is OK with me, but given my druthers I would have preferred a sharp 800mm shot. Next time I will go with my own instincts, but a seriously doubt I will ever get another chance with a very rare "Spirit Bear". I show it here not because it rocks as a photo which obviously it doesn't, but because it is such a rare and fortunate sighting. I will post more shots here that could have been better captured, but only in the interest of the subject matter and to share my excitement about this pristine wilderness. Thank you Brian and Dave for looking and commenting.

[Shadowman]

Nice strides.

[Cantab]

Richard, I liked all five photos. I know the white spirit bears exist but also that they are very rare so it must have been quite something to actually see one!
What type camera, etc are you using? The third black bear photo looks like it was only a few feet away -- a sharp image despite the 2x teleconverter.

[Aeros]

Richard, I liked all five photos. I know the white spirit bears exist but also that they are very rare so it must have been quite something to actually see one!
What type camera, etc are you using? The third black bear photo looks like it was only a few feet away -- a sharp image despite the 2x teleconverter.

Thanks for your comments and question Bruce. the last black bear photo was shot at 365.0mm with a Canon EOS 7D, lens was a Canon EF100-400 f/4.5-5.5 IS USM. shot at f/9.0 1/80 ISO 3200 no TC used. The closest bear I encountered was a Grizzly at about 10 or more meters I had to put my life in the hands of my guide. The photos are not very good due to the low light and camera shake, but I will post them soon as poorly captured as they are, they are treasured memories for me, so I want to share them here. I also had with me a Pentax 645D with a 25mm lens for landscape, my first postings on the boat were shot with the MF 645. I have since acquired a Nikon D800e that has become my favourite camera, (after the Pentax) it came bundled with the "street Sweeper" lens 28-300, I have since bought the Nikor 80-200mm 2.8 D that I'm madly in love with, especially for portraiture. Thanks again for your kind comments.

[Aeros]

Nice strides.

Yes John, I got lucky with some of the bear poses, thanks for looking and commenting.

[george013]

..... I have since acquired a Nikon D800e that has become my favourite camera, (after the Pentax) it came bundled with the "street Sweeper" lens 28-300, I have since bought the Nikor 80-200mm 2.8 D that I'm madly in love with, especially for portraiture. Thanks again for your kind comments.

First I want to say I like them all. But I'm no nature photographer.
You bought the 80-200 2.8D, I pressume the last serie with AF-S?
George

[IzzieK]

All nice shots, Richard...I will want to pick a favourite amongst them but I cannot because they are all good shots. As for the rare Spirit Bear shot, yes...I agree with you on that you should listen to yourself instead. I am glad that my mule is a snapshooter and wouldn't dare question my lens choices apart from the price of them, so if I ever got a rubbish shot, I have only myself to blame... I like travelling alone...

[JohnRostron]

Impressive shots. I particularly like the posture in #1. I don't have any problems with #4 and #5.

John

[Barbara Ponder]

Lovely shots!

[Aeros]

All nice shots, Richard...I will want to pick a favourite amongst them but I cannot because they are all good shots. As for the rare Spirit Bear shot, yes...I agree with you on that you should listen to yourself instead. I am glad that my mule is a snapshooter and wouldn't dare question my lens choices apart from the price of them, so if I ever got a rubbish shot, I have only myself to blame... I like travelling alone...

Izziek, I particularly appreciate your response as you obviously feel my frustration. I too prefer to travel alone for the same reasons as you. That Spirit Bear shot...If only I listened to myself, if only......

[Aeros]

Impressive shots. I particularly like the posture in #1. I don't have any problems with #4 and #5.

John

Thank you so much John. The bear in #1 winded me and is why it is looking directly at me when it caught my scent. Bears have not got the best eyesight, but they have an incredible sense of smell. If he could not see me he certainly knew where I was, as he could smell me after many days on that boat without a shower because of water rationing.

[Aeros]

First I want to say I like them all. But I'm no nature photographer.
You bought the 80-200 2.8D, I pressume the last serie with AF-S?
George

Hi George, the Nikkor lens I like so much was bought on E-Bay and is an older model in mint condition with all manuals and original packaging. It is the Nikkor ED AF 80-200mm 1:2.8 D. I will post a portrait here soon, I took with it in ambient light. Thanks for your interest and comments.

[Aeros]

Lovely shots!

Lovely response, thank you Barbara.

[george013]

Hi George, the Nikkor lens I like so much was bought on E-Bay and is an older model in mint condition with all manuals and original packaging. It is the Nikkor ED AF 80-200mm 1:2.8 D. I will post a portrait here soon, I took with it in ambient light. Thanks for your interest and comments.

I asked for I was looking for such a lens myself. There are 4 types and the last one has AF-S. But as I said , I was looking for it. After my former post, I went down in my house and noticed I had some visitors during the night. My 2 camera's, all my lenses and two flashes gone.

George

[bnnrcn]

Very nice shots

[Aeros]

I asked for I was looking for such a lens myself. There are 4 types and the last one has AF-S. But as I said , I was looking for it. After my former post, I went down in my house and noticed I had some visitors during the night. My 2 camera's, all my lenses and two flashes gone.

George

This would be my worst nightmare, so sorry for the loss George, I hope you are insured. I think it may be someone who knew about your equipment and where to find it. For this reason my house and garage have burglar alarms. I hope you recorded all serial numbers, no telling if a pawn broker may call it in if they show up.

[Aeros]

I asked for I was looking for such a lens myself. There are 4 types and the last one has AF-S. But as I said , I was looking for it. After my former post, I went down in my house and noticed I had some visitors during the night. My 2 camera's, all my lenses and two flashes gone.

George

This would be my worst nightmare, so sorry for the loss George, I hope you are insured. I think it may be someone who knew about your equipment and where to find it. For this reason my house and garage have burglar alarms. I hope you recorded all serial numbers, no telling if a pawn broker may call it in if they show up.