Brown (Grizzly) Bear (Ursus arctos)

The Great Bear Rainforest
Photo Title: The Great Bear Rainforest
Author: Brad Hill

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Photograph Information

Photographer Brad Hill
Date posted November, 13th 2007
Camera NIKON D2Xs
Lense Nikon 200 mm f2 VR
Country Canada
Place Bolin Bay, BC
Order Carnivora
Family Ursidae
Binomial Name Ursus arctos
Vernacular Name Brown (Grizzly) Bear
Exposure f/3.2, 1/80 sec.
Focal Length 200mm
ISO 320
Categories Mammals, America (North)
Views 1470
Rating 3.30 (10 votes)

Story or comment

There's a rainforest along the central and northern coast of British Columbia that's become known by many as "The Great Bear Rainforest." I have traveled there a number of times in the last couple of years to photograph the inhabitants of this wonderful place. But I hadn't been successful in capturing an image that captures the essence of the Great Bear Rainforest itself. But last month I managed to capture this shot which, however imperfect, is my best attempt yet of depicting the spirit of this wonderful forest.

By the way, the almost "painterly" effect of this image - particularly the background - wasn't produced by any digital tricks, but rather the old-fashioned way... I shot the image in a torrential downpour...

All the contextual information surrounding this shot (field notes, all camera settings and processing details, etc.) can be found at:

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

Thanks in advance for any feedback on this image.

Cheers...

Brad

Traduction : Il y a le long de la côte centrale et de la côte nord de la Colombie britannique une forêt pluviale qui est pour beaucoup connue sous le nom de "Grande forêt pluviale de l'ours". J'ai voyagé un bon nombre de fois dans cette région merveilleuse au cours des deux dernières années pour en photographier les habitants.
Mais je n'ai pas réussi à capturer une image qui exprime l'essence même de la grande forêt pluviale de l'ours...jusqu'au mois dernier où j'ai réussi à faire cette photo, qui, bien qu'imparfaite, est mon meilleur essai pour dépeindre cette merveilleuse forêt.

A propos...l'aspect plutôt "gravure" de cette photo , surtout l'arrière-plan, ne doit rien à un quelconque post-traitement, mais à un effet plutôt "à l'ancienne mode", à savoir le fait qu'il tombait des cordes au moment où j'ai pris cette photo !

Critiques

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Rating: 3 - From Hélène Pouchkine, on November, 16th 2007 at 07:51 PM
Hello Brad :D !

What a strange place and what a strange image !
The colours, I don't know why, make me feel uncomfortable... the bright yellow colours of the forest seem to me impossible, unreal.
But this doesn't make me dislike your image, not at all. It's taking me in a fairy tale world. The way the bear is standing in front of the stump makes me think that he is watching the last Entwife of the Fangorn Forest trying to stand up !
(Ok I promise, I'll stop reading and watching LOTR next month :lol: !)

Thank you so much for the trip and sorry for my english...
Regards,
Hélène

Traduction (aussi approximative que mon anglais :mrgreen: ) :
Quel endroit étrange et quelle image étrange !
Les couleurs, je ne sais pourquoi, me mettent mal à l'aise... les jaunes lumineux de la forêt me semblent impossibles, irréels.
Mais cela me m'empêche pas d'aimer ta photo, bien au contraire. Cela m'entraine dans un monde de contes de fées. La façon dont l'ours se tient face à la souche me donne l'impression qu'il regarde la dernière femme-ent de la Forêt de Fangorn essayer de se relever !
(OK, c'est promis j'arrête le Seigneur des Anneaux... le mois prochain !)
Reply
From Brad Hill, on November, 17th 2007 at 02:53 PM
Hello Hélène,

Thank you for your comments. I just wanted to assure you that the colours are real...the heavy rain and even light contributed to the saturation as well as to the almost surreal look. I also had to shoot the shot at fairly high ISO, which had an impact on the clarity of the shot, particularly the background. Indeed, it was the strength of the colours (and, of course the bear and the stump) that drove me to shoot the image!

Cheers and thanks again for your interesting comments...

Brad :)

Translation (from Google):

Bonjour Hélène,

Merci de vos commentaires. Je voulais juste vous assurer que les couleurs sont bien réelles ... la pluie et même la lumière contribué à la saturation, ainsi qu'à l'aspect presque surréaliste. J'ai également eu à tirer sur le plan assez élevé à l'ISO, qui a eu un impact sur la clarté de la prise de vue, en particulier l'arrière-plan. En fait, c'est la force des couleurs (et, bien sûr, les ours et la souche), qui m'a conduit à prendre la photo!

Cordialement et encore merci pour vos commentaires intéressants ...

Brad
Reply

Rating: 4 - From Catherine Lanneluc, on November, 15th 2007 at 01:49 PM
Hello Brad

I absolutely agree with Pierre.
The only thing that bothers me is the water which looks so smooth that one could think it is a road... Is it really water ? :roll:

I think you succeeded in expressing the real atmosphere of the place.

Congratulations

Catherine
Reply
From Brad Hill, on November, 15th 2007 at 02:53 PM
Hello Catherine,

It is definitely water - actually it's the Pacific Ocean at high tide. There actually isn't a road anywhere within about 100 km of where this image was shot (float plane or boat access only).

Cheers and thanks for your kind words about the image.

Brad :)
Reply

Rating: 4 - From Pierre Lobel, on November, 14th 2007 at 08:36 PM
Hello Brad,

It's always a pleasure to see your picts, thus for this one, it takes more time for me to decide how many elephants I will give : 3 or 4 ;) ?
At first sight, this pict seems less interesting than the previous one; but after analysing more precisely the pict, it appears for me that it shows something else that your other picts don't have. This one does not focus on the animal itself. It is more a description of a mood. The "painting effect" changes this picture into something else which is a bit shifted from the reality... I see it now not like something real but like something created by a dream... Sorry if it looks a bit confusing but it's hard for me to explain this kind of thing in English :oops: But to summarize : I like it very much :mrgreen: !

Traduction :
C'est toujours un plaisir de voir tes photos, bien que pour celle-ci il m'a fallu plus de temps pour décider le nombre d'éléphants que j'allais lui donner : 3 ou 4 ? Au premier regard, cette photo semble moins intéressante que les autres, mais en regardant plus attentivement, je trouve qu'elle montre quelquechose que les autres n'ont pas. Celle -ci ne se focalise pas sur l'animal lui-même. C'ets plutot la description d'une ambiance. L'effet de peinture transforme cette photo en quelque chose d'autre qui se trouve décalé par rapport à la réalité. je vois maintenant cette image non plus comme la repésentaion d'une réalité mais comme celle d'un rêve... Bref : j'adore !
Reply
From Brad Hill, on November, 14th 2007 at 11:37 PM
Thank you Pierre for such an interesting and entertaining critique! Comments like yours can help make the hours of sitting in the rain and the cold worth the effort! I find it fascinating how certain images work for some people but not for others. At this point in time this is one of my all-time favourite images...I'm noticing some folks like it very much but others don't react to it. So interesting!

Thanks again for taking the time and effort to produce such a thoughtful critique (and thanks to everyone else who is commenting as well!).

Cheers...

Brad :)
Reply

Rating: 3 - From , on November, 13th 2007 at 09:37 PM
Great work here! The composition is exellent. I love the large trunk on the right side, filling the frame. You managed to produce an excellent atmosphe shot, finished by the lovely forest colors.
Love it!
Reply

Rating: 3 - From Thierry LEROY, on November, 13th 2007 at 07:18 PM
Thank you Brad for this come back, you showed us a particular atmosphere of this Great Bear Rainforest.

The weft background appears to me like an Impressionism painting, the ambiance is pleasant and the frame perect.

However, only three Elephants for this one, your previous pictures were more impressive for me. (the level is very high now !!!)

Thanks for the sharing and goo pictures.

Warm regards

Thierry
Reply

Quick Ratings


Rating: 3 - From Jean-Charles Perquin, on November, 22nd 2007 at 08:38 PM

Rating: 3 - From Cécile BH, on November, 14th 2007 at 06:01 PM

Rating: 3 - From Bernard BLESL, on November, 14th 2007 at 04:11 PM

Rating: 3 - From Vincent Richard, on November, 14th 2007 at 08:26 AM

Rating: 4 - From Yvon Delbecque, on November, 13th 2007 at 07:13 PM

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