29 Jul

Posted at 19:21h in Photo Tours
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At the end of this week I am heading on a new adventure, up to a remote part of British Columbia, where we will be completely off the grid. The objective of this trip will be to photograph Grizzly Bears while they fish for salmon – and to have fun, of course!

 

What I love about photographing bears while they are fishing, is that the bears are usually very dynamic – you can get bears splashing in the water, you can see bears that will snorkel (put there eyes under water), while others take the easy way…and grab the dead fish along the shore. Bears will switch to fish, when available, and sometimes travel long distances in order to visit fishing grounds. In years when there are a lot of fish, bears will often focus on eating the brains, and fish eggs, instead of the entire fish, as these are the parts that pack the most calories, so they are the most bang for their buck.

 

Caught One

Caught One

This image was captured on a different trip that I went on by myself a few years ago, showing a Grizzly Bear fishing pink salmon in a different part of remote British Columbia, however it shows how having a salmon can really add another element to a photo (and not just the fish, but the interaction with fish trying to escape while bear tries to eat it).

 

I’m also excited to finally get to really put the Canon 1D X Mark II to the test, and reporting on the results. I have only been out shooting with it a few times in and around Calgary, and haven’t really put it through 5 straight days of work. Based on all the images I have captured with it so far, the AF system seems awesome, with it tracking birds in flight very well, and the ISO performance is right up there. I have gotten usable images at ISO’s over 6400 (which is usually where I stop with the Canon 1dx). I will be bringing both the Canon 1D x Mark II and the 1D X along on this trip, and will be putting them head-to-head when I can.

 

I am super excited about this trip, and I am looking forward to see what I come away with! Stay tuned to my blog, and recent images, for what I ended up capturing.

At the end of this week I am heading on a new adventure, up to a remote part of British Columbia, where we will be completely off the grid. The objective of this trip will be to photograph Grizzly Bears while they fish for salmon – and to have fun, of course!

 

What I love about photographing bears while they are fishing, is that the bears are usually very dynamic – you can get bears splashing in the water, you can see bears that will snorkel (put there eyes under water), while others take the easy way…and grab the dead fish along the shore. Bears will switch to fish, when available, and sometimes travel long distances in order to visit fishing grounds. In years when there are a lot of fish, bears will often focus on eating the brains, and fish eggs, instead of the entire fish, as these are the parts that pack the most calories, so they are the most bang for their buck.

 

Caught One

Caught One

This image was captured on a different trip that I went on by myself a few years ago, showing a Grizzly Bear fishing pink salmon in a different part of remote British Columbia, however it shows how having a salmon can really add another element to a photo (and not just the fish, but the interaction with fish trying to escape while bear tries to eat it).

 

I’m also excited to finally get to really put the Canon 1D X Mark II to the test, and reporting on the results. I have only been out shooting with it a few times in and around Calgary, and haven’t really put it through 5 straight days of work. Based on all the images I have captured with it so far, the AF system seems awesome, with it tracking birds in flight very well, and the ISO performance is right up there. I have gotten usable images at ISO’s over 6400 (which is usually where I stop with the Canon 1dx). I will be bringing both the Canon 1D x Mark II and the 1D X along on this trip, and will be putting them head-to-head when I can.

 

I am super excited about this trip, and I am looking forward to see what I come away with! Stay tuned to my blog, and recent images, for what I ended up capturing.


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10 Jun

Posted at 12:53h in Photo Tours
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I just got back from spending nine days photographing the Grizzly Bears that call the Khuzteymateen home. First I want to thank the Ocean Light II, Jenn, Tom, and Sarah for the hospitality, amazing food, and knowledgeable guiding that I received during my time. And also thanks for photo leader extraordinaire Brad Hill of Natural Art Images, and a thanks to the rest of the group participants in making the trip extremely enjoyable.

 

This is my second time heading into the Khutzeymateen, and what I learned very quickly at the beginning of this year’s trip is that you never know what to expect while you are there (other than seeing Grizzly’s of course). Last year’s trip was full of two-headed bears (mating grizzly’s) and lots of them.

On Top

Whereas this year we saw a little bit of courtship, but no actual mating, so no bear porn videos produced this year. But what you can always expect from the Khutzeymateen is exclusive photographic opportunities, and I didn’t come away disappointed.

 

One of the many highlights of the trip was when one of the bears climbed onto a little rock island that was quite high compared to where the water was sitting, and decided to have a very long nap. She stayed up there for a couple of hours, allowing us the opportunity to experiment with various focal lengths and apertures. And she was also kind enough to move around every now and again to provide us different angles and images.  I actually remember going past this island, which during the lower tide, is actually quite high up there, and thinking how cool it would be if we saw a bear hanging out on that island.  Assuming it would never actually happen, guess I was wrong about that.

Two of a Kind

 

We also had the opportunity to photograph a mother and cub a few times during the trip.  It was interesting to watch her slowly become more comfortable with us throughout the trip, with her starting quite close to the woods and the cub running off a couple times, to on the last few days being totally calm when we were around.

 

Visiting the Khutzeymateen the last two years, and staying for 9 days this year, provides the opportunity to start to recognize some of the different bears, and you start noticing behaviors and changes in behaviours.  The last two trips I was fortunate enough to see siblings that were four years old last year, and still hanging around a bit, and to see how they have changed as five year-olds.  We also saw some of the larger males that were around last year, and it was interesting to see how them still trying to establish dominance again this year.

 

Stay tuned to my Recent Photos and Khutzeymateen Collection to see more of my images from the trip as I get through processing them.

 

If you have any questions about the trip, or want to get more details, contact me at [email protected].  If you are interested in joining me next year, there are still spots available on the 3 day trip, with more information available here.

I just got back from spending nine days photographing the Grizzly Bears that call the Khuzteymateen home. First I want to thank the Ocean Light II, Jenn, Tom, and Sarah for the hospitality, amazing food, and knowledgeable guiding that I received during my time. And also thanks for photo leader extraordinaire Brad Hill of Natural Art Images, and a thanks to the rest of the group participants in making the trip extremely enjoyable.

 

This is my second time heading into the Khutzeymateen, and what I learned very quickly at the beginning of this year’s trip is that you never know what to expect while you are there (other than seeing Grizzly’s of course). Last year’s trip was full of two-headed bears (mating grizzly’s) and lots of them.

On Top

Whereas this year we saw a little bit of courtship, but no actual mating, so no bear porn videos produced this year. But what you can always expect from the Khutzeymateen is exclusive photographic opportunities, and I didn’t come away disappointed.

 

One of the many highlights of the trip was when one of the bears climbed onto a little rock island that was quite high compared to where the water was sitting, and decided to have a very long nap. She stayed up there for a couple of hours, allowing us the opportunity to experiment with various focal lengths and apertures. And she was also kind enough to move around every now and again to provide us different angles and images.  I actually remember going past this island, which during the lower tide, is actually quite high up there, and thinking how cool it would be if we saw a bear hanging out on that island.  Assuming it would never actually happen, guess I was wrong about that.

Two of a Kind

 

We also had the opportunity to photograph a mother and cub a few times during the trip.  It was interesting to watch her slowly become more comfortable with us throughout the trip, with her starting quite close to the woods and the cub running off a couple times, to on the last few days being totally calm when we were around.

 

Visiting the Khutzeymateen the last two years, and staying for 9 days this year, provides the opportunity to start to recognize some of the different bears, and you start noticing behaviors and changes in behaviours.  The last two trips I was fortunate enough to see siblings that were four years old last year, and still hanging around a bit, and to see how they have changed as five year-olds.  We also saw some of the larger males that were around last year, and it was interesting to see how them still trying to establish dominance again this year.

 

Stay tuned to my Recent Photos and Khutzeymateen Collection to see more of my images from the trip as I get through processing them.

 

If you have any questions about the trip, or want to get more details, contact me at [email protected].  If you are interested in joining me next year, there are still spots available on the 3 day trip, with more information available here.


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