B&W Bears, Post 2

Here I go, “doing the twist”… oh wait. No one wants to see that. Here are two more images I’ve been working on from Katmai. The first was from a staring contest that I admittedly lost. The second is more of a pondering pose. The bear seems to be pondering, “are these things sharp enough?” I’d have to say yes, although I thankfully didn’t have any first hand knowledge or interaction with ‘said’ claws.

A Black & White Twist on Katmai

I’m not a black and white photographer, per se. Truth be told, I’ve always loved color – it’s how I see things. I seem to have completely skipped the b&w photography and darkroom phase in my photographic “formative” years. Although, come to think of it, every year should be a “formative” year as a photographer. We are continually learning, constantly evolving, ever trying new things – or at least we should be. Late last year I happened upon the work of a photographer who specializes in the wild animals of Africa – his name is Nick Brandt, and I highly recommend you check out his portfolio online. My parents bought me his book “On This Earth – Photographs from East Africa” for Christmas that year, and I’ve gone over it numerous times for inspiration. Another photographer I greatly admire is Andy Biggs. He too is known best for his African wildlife images, and leads exciting photo safaris to that continent. The connection between these two photographers runs deeper though, both are amazing b&w shooters, though Andy does a great deal of color work as well. I’ve been meaning to try my hand at some wildlife b&w work recently, and after sorting through some more images from our Katmai Bears trip, I think I have found some good images that translate well in b&w. They were all captured in color, then converted to monochrome with a slight sepia tone. I’ve also done some creative digital darkroom working with them… selective blurs, vignettes, dodging and burning. They are a bit more “moody” than my standard work. Overall, I’m really pleased with the work I’ve done. It didn’t take long, and the new creative approach may offer more opportunities in the future for my photography. I’ll post more images in the coming days, but here are a few to start off. Comments welcome, and take care everyone.

Katmai Brown Bears

Saturday was an amazing day. Tim and I drove to Homer the night before, arriving in the early hours of the morning. At 8:15 we met our guides & fellow travelers at the float plane dock of Emerald Air Service, on Beluga Lake. I’ve travelled with Ken and Chris Day before – they offer an incredible bear viewing service, travelling to the Katmai Coast throughout summer, and deeper into Katmai in the fall. Ken is a consummate pilot, and also guides during the fall. Chris (his wife) is also a renowned bear guide, and she has nearly 25 years of experience in Katmai. This dynamic duo consistently put photographers and bear viewers alike in safe situations near bears – how near? Well, keep reading!
As Ken preflighted the plane, Chris gave us a safety briefing and a detailed bear etiquette discussion. I’ve been through this briefing several times now, and she does an excellent job preparing you for the day ahead. Nothing is left to chance with Emerald Air, they take care of your every need each step of the way. They don’t skimp on adventure either, and the sights you see are immense and awe-inspiring. I can’t recommend their service enough.
We took off around 9 am, and quickly made our way over the absolutely glass-like seas of Kachemak Bay and the Shelikof Strait. Then we approached the Katmai Coast, approaching from Cape Douglas, passing Mount Douglas, Fourpeaked Mountain, Swikshak Bay and finally into Hallo Bay. We landed gently on the ocean and taxied closer to shore. Finally, we waded through the North Pacific Ocean to the shore in our hip waders. It was a beautiful day, with a slight breeze coming in off the ocean and slightly overcast skies (good shooting weather). Right on the shore, not far away, we saw a good omen. I’ve often thought of bald eagles as good luck, and right there were 2 of them, perched on drift wood. We prepped for the hike to come and set off, quickly sighting bears not too far off, and a few red fox (mother and kits) near their den. We photographed the mother fox as it approached us without fear, then skirted around us, leisurely poking in the driftwood and nearly oblivious to our presence. We moved on to photograph a few bears in some mud flats as they interacted and dug for clams. Further along we found ourselves being paralled by a large grazing male brown bear; he stuck close by as we photographed him and our group become more relaxed in the presence of these giants. All along, Chris pointed out fascinating facts regarding the bears, their diet, wildflowers, and other wildlife. Everything was amazing, and we soaked it all in. Soon, it was lunch, and we all sat on a group of driftwood in a lush meadow to share our lunchtime with 8 bear. After lunch we moved off into the meadows bathed in brilliant green sedge grasses, carefully stepping over and around bear scat (some people less successfully than others). We stopped frequently to photograph to our hearts content, and the opportunities kept improving every minute. In the mid-afternoon we approached a beautiful blonde female bear named “Peaches”. We stopped about 15 yards away and sat quietly, the frequent click of shutters the only human sound. Peaches was a bear that Chris was very familiar with, and the beautiful animal continued to graze lazily in our presence. She would nibble on grass as she walked, rarely lifting her head – so intent on her meal. Then she moved closer, and closer, and closer! I was on the far right side of our group, Tim to my left, and Chris (with the rest of the group) just beyond. Peaches kept meadering closer, and then – here she was – less than 2 feet away from me! Her coat shimmered in the soft light, her breathing easy, her eyes sparkling. I could hear several things: the soft chomping of her jaws on the grass, Tim’s fast camera blazing away at high speed (capturing every moment), a quite whisper from the group “Oh my god…“, and my beating heart. This was an amazing moment – it seemed to last forever, but was over all too quick. When she got closer (which the group agreed was about 18 inches from me), Chris slowly walked forward and said softly, “Ok Peaches, that’s close enough”. And Peaches just moved on, slowly continuing around my right side and away from our group.

Image copyright Tim Smith/Sixtyone North 2008    

I’ve been inches from bald eagles and just feet from dall sheep. But this was, by far, the most incredible experience of my photographic career. Absolutely amazing. I can’t admit to being totally fearless during the encounter – this was a first. But I wasn’t shaking from fear, just pure excitement and joy at such a gift. A gift that would not have been possible without Chris’s expertise with these beautiful creatures.
But this was not the end of our day. We moved to photograph a few bears not far away. One bear was rolling lazily in the grass, frequently on it’s back scratching it’s belly, one rear paw in the air.

Soon afterwards we watched (and of course photographed) another bear on the edge of a shallow stream laying down with its fierce looking paw beneath its chin. On the way back to the plane we encountered a lone young bear with a bit of an attitude. He quickly strode towards us, only a few steps, but Chris quickly put it in its place. Not with a word, or by clapping her hands (which she was preparing to do), but just by her pose. Dominant for such a tiny woman, she stood directly in front of our group and the bear quickly stopped and moved on. Amazing strength and knowledge.
Soon we were back to the beach, the tide quickly moving out. Ken brought the plane in as close as he could without running the pantoons into the mud. We waded out to him, water cresting our hip waders and quickly filling them with the cold North Pacific Ocean. As crazy as it sounds, it was the perfect end to an incredible day. I wouldn’t change a thing, except to maybe have stayed out there for several more days:)
Another BIG thankyou to Ken for an amazing flightseeing trip over and back, and Chris for keeping us safe and showing us once again that, when you look into a bears eyes – you glimpse eternity.