Bear Kiss-Kodiak Bear & Salmon

Posted by AlexC on Wed Sep 17, 2003 10:16 pm

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Kodiak Bear

By early September they are pretty much fattened up for the coming winter, This is evident by the fact that after chasing the salmon, often enough they drop them back to the stream without a nibble, sometimes just a small bite and sometimes they just rip the skin off, the rest is discarded for the ever grateful gulls to pick on, I was very much surprised that in spite of the abundance of fish, their scats are full of berries, I had to walk thru tons of Bear droppings , all full of berries seeds, The fish provides protein but the berries provide the sugars that are converted into fat much more readily, By the end of this month they will be going into the walking hibernation stage, just prior to denning for the winter!!
To photograph these bears we had to walk on THEIR trails and into THEIR territory, there is no other way to get there.
D1X, Raw Format, Lens=400 afs f/2.8 + 2X Teleconverter, FL=800mm, Manual exposure, 1/1000sec-f/7.1, EV-1/3, ISO=400, WB=Sunny, No flash attached!!!
Any and all comments welcome!!
PS:
I am sorry that at present I don't have much time to participate more actively in this forum, but I will do my best to participate!!!

[b]Alex Calzadilla[/b]
[b]Miami, Florida[/b]
[b]NSN-0024[/b]
"At the feast of ego everyone leaves hungry." - Bentley's House of Coffee and Tea, Tucson, AZ

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AlexC
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by Dennis Olivero on Wed Sep 17, 2003 10:24 pm

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Alex
Thanks for posting here and please don't apologize for how much or little you contribute. Speaking for the gang here we are always grateful for any posts, no obligations or rules in FFM.

I really like your picture. The fish looks in pretty bad shape and not sure I would do more then test it either

. Seriously, there is just a little light in the eye and I really like seeing the claws..

Thanks for the natural history information as well. With all this talk going on about carbs and Atkins diets blah blah blah, I had to laugh that the bears go for sugar because they know it will make fat, and the protein in the fish is not as readily converted. Only took us humans 2000+ years to figure that one out..only our problem is the reverse. A few less french fries now..

I really enjoy your work Alex, you are always welcome in the FFM forum..

[b]Dennis Olivero[/b]
[url=http://www.northernlightnaturephotography.com][b]Northern Light Nature Photography[/b][/url]
NSN 20

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by walkinman on Wed Sep 17, 2003 11:24 pm

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Hey Alex,

I second Dennis' comments .. no aplogies needed, it's our treat to see your work.

I like these shots, but the light has to really be right to pull 'em off .. this one isn't bad at all, considering how little control we have the subject.

Is this the same bear you posted the other day? He looks like it, and what a great rich brown he is, with a prime coat?! The protein these guys get from all that salmon affects not only their size, but the color of their hair .. hence you won't find a grizzly this color in Denali NP, for example .. their diet benig so low in protein, they aren't able to develop the pigment for darker fur, so they tend to go a sandy blond, like the young griz Artie Morris posted.

I like this a lot, and look forward to seeing more from you.

Cheers

Carl

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by Jill on Thu Sep 18, 2003 1:09 am

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Alex, I love this capture and am especially enamoured with its claws!!! The added information about berries vs. protein, diet and hair color is most fascinating. Thanks to everyone for sharing!!!

Jill Rosenfield

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by AlexC on Thu Sep 18, 2003 8:59 am

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Carl wrote:

I like these shots, but the light has to really be right to pull 'em off .. this one isn't bad at all, considering how little control we have the subject

Carl, you are indeed correct, in this case you take what you are given, lousy angle of the sun and deep shades, slightly steep angle as well, You don't want the bears to know you are there, the best lighting is about 90 degrees to my right and that is the stream and the main bear path!!!, Not much I could do about that!!!

[b]Alex Calzadilla[/b]
[b]Miami, Florida[/b]
[b]NSN-0024[/b]
"At the feast of ego everyone leaves hungry." - Bentley's House of Coffee and Tea, Tucson, AZ

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by NDCheryl on Thu Sep 18, 2003 12:32 pm

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Alex,

Thanks for posting in FFM. You and your pix are always welcome. I like the activity in this shot with the scrunched up nose and the very prominent claws.

Cheryl Ertelt
http://www.photosphrases.com
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by Bob Ettinger on Thu Sep 18, 2003 6:28 pm

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Alex,

Your images always make looking a worthwhile experience no matter where they are posted and this one is no exception.

Bob Ettinger

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by Juli Wilcox on Fri Sep 19, 2003 1:39 am

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Yikes! That is a monster! I like the composition and the fact you lived to tell about it!!

[b]Juli Wilcox[/b]
[b]Former Editor in Chief, NSN[/b]

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by Carol Clarke on Fri Sep 19, 2003 4:30 am

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Sorry I missed this one earlier Alex, nice shot and good to see you in Fauna! it is so hard to keep up with everyone!

Good shot!

Carol Clarke
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"When the power of love is greater than the love of power,
the world will know peace"....Jimi Hendrix.

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by Rich S on Fri Sep 19, 2003 12:16 pm

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Another delayed "nicely done." So often our focus is on the eye but here it's that tremendous claw and the movement in the water suggesting the fish is still struggling.

Moral of your title? Don't kiss a bear.

Rich

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