Grizzly (or Brown) Bear (Ursus arctos)

Misty Morning Dip
Photo Title: Misty Morning Dip
Author: Brad Hill

This photo has been elected "Photograph of the Week" on September 2007 (week 38).

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Photograph Information

Photographer Brad Hill
Date posted September, 10th 2007
Camera Nikon D2X
Lense Nikon 200-400 mm f/4G ED-IF AF
Country Canada
Place Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC
Order Carnivora
Family Ursidae
Binomial Name Ursus arctos
Vernacular Name Grizzly (or Brown) Bear
Exposure f/4, 1/640 sec.
Focal Length 280mm
ISO 200
Categories America (North), Mammals
Views 2012
Rating 3.94 (16 votes)

Story or comment

One of my favorite photographs taken in the last year or so...

From a morning I'll never forget! Northern British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest - filled with rain, mist and many great bears. Took this shot from a moving zodiac just as rain was letting up as this female grizzly took her 3 cubs for a swim in the estuary.

Translation from Babelfish (anyone is invited to improve upon this translation...please!):[edit: hope I improved it :)]

Un matin que je n'oublierai jamais ! La forêt pluviale du grand ours du nord de la Colombie britannique - pleine de pluie, de brume et de beaucoup de grands ours.
J'ai pris cette photo depuis un Zodiac alors que la pluie se calmait, tandis que cette femelle grizzly entraînait ses 3 petits pour un bain dans l'estuaire.

Lots more detail about this specific image (field notes, camera and shooting details, processing details) can be found at the following page on my website:

http://www.naturalart.ca/galleries/mammals/bears/d(...)

Looking forward to some feedback - thanks in advance...

Brad

Critiques

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There are currently 11 critiques for this photo.


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Rating: 4 - From Chifonet G., on November, 30th 2007 at 09:20 AM
Hello Brad !
This picture must go to National Geographic, That's all !
Mathilde
Reply

Rating: 4 - From Christophe Kaluzny, on September, 28th 2007 at 05:38 AM
Hello Brad,

My english is ugly but i can write about this picture:

Wonderfull!

Christophe.
Reply

Rating: 4 - From Pierre Marty, on September, 14th 2007 at 01:38 PM
Hello Brad,

a splendid photography in which the natural environment takes much importance. Water, fog, vegetation... environment is superb.

What a chance to be able to photograph such moments!

In a friendly way.

PIT

(afflicted for my approximate English.)
Reply

Rating: 4 - From Christophe CAGNARD, on September, 11th 2007 at 05:13 PM
TRES TRES beau. Photo pleine d'émotion. Un vrai plaisir pour les yeux.

Merci pour le partage.

Manque peut-etre un poil de contraste, pour chipoter. Les ours en plein centre (horizontalement) ne gènent en rien à ce cliché.

Amicalement
Reply
From Brad Hill, on September, 11th 2007 at 05:33 PM
Hello Christophe,

Thanks for your comments. I translated your comments but I'm not sure I fully understand your last sentence (the horizontal placement of the bears). This was a tough decision - normally I don't believe in placing my subjects dead centre, but in this case the reflection was so powerful I decided to go with the strong and obvious symmetry driven by the reflection of the tree (rather than positioning the bears higher or lower in the frame).

Cheers...

Brad
Reply
From Catherine Lanneluc, on September, 11th 2007 at 06:09 PM
Hello Brad,


As a matter of fact, Christophe meant that bears were at the correct place in your picture, even if one says the subject must not be right in the middle ;)
Reply
From Brad Hill, on September, 11th 2007 at 06:29 PM
Thank you Catherine...

Ah yes...those old "compositional rules". Aren't rules meant to be broken? I consider them guidelines, at best!

Cheers...

Brad
Reply

Rating: 4 - From Alain ABBADIE, on September, 11th 2007 at 06:37 AM
Bonjour Brad.

Pour que tu n'aies pas trop de traduction à faire je ne dirai qu'un mot : somptueux !

( J'espère que la traduction littérale donne à ce mot le même sens qu'il a en français. )

Amicalement.

Alain.
Reply

Rating: 4 - From Pierre Lobel, on September, 10th 2007 at 09:46 PM
Hello Brad !

There is some kind of magic in this picture! The misty background and the flat water give us a wonderfull impression of quite and peaceful nature.

Thank you Brad to share with us this beautiful moment :mrgreen: .
Reply

Rating: 4 - From Thierry LEROY, on September, 10th 2007 at 07:10 PM
Hello Brad,

This picture appears to me like surreaslist ! It’s incredible, the atmosphere is strange and enchanting.

The misty background is fantastic, it’s beetween a painting and a cartoon set like if the picture had not been shot on location but composed.

How did you do that ?

With this second pics, you have taken out a four elephants subcription to Nunda, thanks for this sharing. Congratulations.

Regards

Thierry

In french in the text :

Cette photo me semble surréaliste, c’est incroyable comme l’ambiance parait étrange et envoûtante.

Le fond brumeux est fantastique, le décor me fait penser à une peinture ou un décor de dessin animé comme si la photo n’avait pas été prise en milieu naturel.

Comment as-tu fait cela ?

Avec cette seconde photo, tu as souscris un abonnement à 4 éléphants sur Nunda, merci pour ce partage
Reply
From Brad Hill, on September, 10th 2007 at 08:12 PM
Hello Thierry,

You asked about the background - specifically how I did it. To be honest, I didn't "do it" - it was simply a matter of capturing the moment. I got lucky in that the sun was striking the bears only - the background was a soft mist with light rain - thus the muted tones. Believe it or not, this is how the scene actually looked - quite magical (and, as you state, quite surreal, strange AND enchanting). I have more images from this same morning that I will post in time.

Cheers...

Brad :)
Reply

Rating: 4 - From André Bosmans, on September, 10th 2007 at 06:22 PM
Hi Brad, when I discovered your site, this was my favorite picture, I put it as a desktop background.
This is a picture everybody want in a portfolio and you made it, congratulation.
Light is magic, scenery is wonderfull and at 280mm, you where pretty close...I hate you :-)
Reply

Rating: 4 - From Catherine Lanneluc, on September, 10th 2007 at 05:48 PM
Hi Brad :)

Actually...waow !

I love everything in this picture, it really looks like a painting. The sharpness of bears , the misty and mysterious atmosphere, the general composition of the scenary...it's beautiful and stirring !

Catherine
Reply

Rating: 4 - From Bernard BLESL, on September, 10th 2007 at 05:45 PM
Yvon said
Hello Brad,

I don't speak english very well. So, only one word !

WHOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.
Not better !

Bernard
Reply

Rating: 4 - From Yvon Delbecque, on September, 10th 2007 at 05:28 PM
Hello Brad,

I don't speak english very well. So, only one word !

WHOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.

Sincerely,

Yvon
Reply

Quick Ratings


Rating: 4 - From Thierry VINCENT, on March, 23rd 2008 at 05:16 AM

Rating: 3 - From Freefox Laxenaire thierry, on September, 25th 2007 at 07:15 AM

Rating: 4 - From Ludovic HUBERT, on September, 19th 2007 at 05:49 PM

Rating: 4 - From Dominique B., on September, 18th 2007 at 10:15 PM

Rating: 4 - From Vincent Richard, on September, 11th 2007 at 06:17 AM

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