Grizzly Bear


Posted by Cliff LeSergent on Sun Aug 31, 2003 10:29 am

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This inquisitive grizzly bear was about two or three years old. This is one of two young bears I observed every morning for about a week in July, 1999 in Kananaskis Country, just outside of Calgary.

Shot taken with a Mamiya 645 Super, 150mm f3.5 lens, 1/60 @ f3.5, hand-held. Film was Velvia @ISO 40, scanned full frame (no cropping).

The bear approached to within the minimum focusing distance of my lens - and manual focusing quickly enough as he approached was a bit of a challenge - after this, I switched to the Pentax 645N AF system.

(for you 35mm shooters, this lens is the equivalent of an 85mm, or a 50mm for most DSLR users - don't try this at home!) :shock:
Cliff LeSergent
Images West Photography
http://www.imageswest.ca

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by Steve Mason on Sun Aug 31, 2003 1:10 pm
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Very cool.
I don't think I'd want a Kananaskis Grizzly at the MFD of any of my lenses. :shock:
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by Cindy Marple on Sun Aug 31, 2003 3:46 pm
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Geez, I can't imagine being that close to a bear like this! I wish for more DOF to get his nose in focus. Nice choice of "crop" of the bear.
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by Brian Hale on Sun Aug 31, 2003 7:12 pm
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Just wonderful Cliff! Looks like he's smiling for the camera! :D
 

by Lillian Roberts on Sun Aug 31, 2003 7:56 pm
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Very nicely composed, and a great example of just how close you can get if you hold still and let them come to you! His body language shows only curiosity, not aggression, and the correct thing to do is stay put as you did.

I'm betting the original transparency is sweeter to look at! The greens and browns here aren't quite "right," and they are the most difficult colors to "fix" in a scanned image IMO. Also those blown highlights may be OK on the original. Is the nose simply too close for the focal plane, or has it been tinkered with? At any rate, nice going and I'll bet you have great memories of being close to this guy!

Lillian
 

by Cliff LeSergent on Sun Aug 31, 2003 8:31 pm
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Thanks for all the comments! :D

I would have like to have a little more depth of field, to get his nose a bit more in focus, but this photo was taken about half an hour before sunrise, and the light was pretty low, so I had no choice but to shoot wide open.

I asked him to "hold still", but he just smiled... :wink:

The original scan is over 200MB and much less contrasty than this JPEG version. I haven't quite figured out how to retain the look of the original when interpolating to the small file sizes needed for the web. Maybe I should be asking Dan Baumbach or Danny Burk for advice on this.
Cliff LeSergent
Images West Photography
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by DC on Mon Sep 01, 2003 5:35 am
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Nice capture Cliff, and way to hold your nerve :shock:
Dave
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