The title of this image is doesn’t require much explanation, it’s a Sleepy bear and a Head shot, so that is how I came up with the title Sleepy Head – how original, I know.

This female Grizzly Bear in the Khutzeymateen has been featured in many images on my website including in Lumpy Pillow and Tranquil but I swear she did more on the nine days I spent in the Khutzeymateen then just sleep (if you can believe it). She happens to be one of my favorite bears, and probably one of the most accommodating bears to photograph. She would often look at us, or give us a nice pose, or when she was too tired to look at us, she picked some beautiful places to sleep. She really did make our jobs easy.

If you look closely at her claws, you can see that some of middle ones are broken off compared to the others, which she did while climbing up to sleep on this rock island. The broken nails seem worth it for an hour of restful slumber, away from the other bears.

If you are interested in purchasing this image, or any other images on my site, contact Terri Shaddick at [email protected].

Taken: May 28, 2016
Location: Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary, British Columbia

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Lens: Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4x III Extender
Focal Length: 700mm
Aperture: f/9
ISO: 2000
Exposure: 1/400