And they arrive by the thousands

And just how many fish were there in Dog Salmon Creek? All the splashing you see in this photo is being created by all the Red & Pink Salmon and not the bear.

There was literally so many fish, this 1100lbs Kodiak male very deliberately picked which fish he was going to eat. As in, he would grab one and if it didn’t meet his standards (whatever they were) he would drop it and grab another. Now this might seem wasteful until you saw the dozen Bald Eagles and Red Fox cleaning up the dead left behind by this male (as well as a Gerber or two). All the ripples in the water in front of the griz are all salmon!

I’ve received a number of emails from folks asking how we can camp amongst griz and shoot beside them and not get eaten. All I can saw is, don’t believe everything you see on TV or  in the movies. If you understand basic biology and understand some of the basics of grizzly bear society, there’s no fear involved, just simple enjoyment. Keep in mind, my wife Sharon was right there with me and is already planning our camping trip with the bears for 2009!

Photos captured by D3, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

It's not what you're thinking

It looks like this Goober (unofficial biological term for 3-4yr old grizzlies) is about to answer the proverbial question about a bear and the woods, but that’s not the case. We’re in from the second leg of our trip reoutfitting before going back out again. On this adventure, the bears weren’t as plentiful because there were simply no fish, salmon are very scarce in AK this year. On the day this photo was taken, the first school of Reds made it to the hole and the bears were just coming in for the feast.

With the new arrival of Reds, the older bears take presedence at the hole so the Goobers (usually bears just kicked out by mom) who have not established themselves yet amongst the other bears. don’t know where to go, literally So, they are basically afraid of their own shadow and do the silliest things while staying out of their own way. it’s just the way of the bear.

Photo captured by D3, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

It’s not what you’re thinking

It looks like this Goober (unofficial biological term for 3-4yr old grizzlies) is about to answer the proverbial question about a bear and the woods, but that’s not the case. We’re in from the second leg of our trip reoutfitting before going back out again. On this adventure, the bears weren’t as plentiful because there were simply no fish, salmon are very scarce in AK this year. On the day this photo was taken, the first school of Reds made it to the hole and the bears were just coming in for the feast.

With the new arrival of Reds, the older bears take presedence at the hole so the Goobers (usually bears just kicked out by mom) who have not established themselves yet amongst the other bears. don’t know where to go, literally So, they are basically afraid of their own shadow and do the silliest things while staying out of their own way. it’s just the way of the bear.

Photo captured by D3, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

Come on mom, play!

We had more then just griz to occupy our glass time. The number two attraction was this Red Fox den with 6-7 pups (never really knew, they didn’t hold still). Foxes are so much fun to watch. Just moments after this photo was taken, the pup on the right backed up and pounced right on mom to get her attention. The pup got attention alright, just not the kind it wanted.

Photo by D3, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

These are Magnificent Creatures

The mere act of strolling in from his favorite “perch’ for fishing, this thousand pound male simply walks across water that would sweep us right away with it. It was moments before standing in the water that’s now behind him and was there for hours.

Photo captured by D3, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

They are humorous creatures

So full, this Griz is being lulled asleep by the rushing water its watching to seize its next meal. It did finally “fall” over but the shutter speed was so slow so it’s just a blur. Watching and photographing the bears for 9hrs straight is just a delight to us.

Photo captured by D3, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film

Not Kidding, Close We Were!

Photo captured by D3, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

We found Heaven!!!!

There is no doubt that we are incredibly fortunate! We have been witness to some of nature’s most incredible wonders in our 30yrs, but none like this past week. As far as we are concerned, we did find heaven. Sharon, Jake & I are just out for the day  reoutfitting after camping amongst the grizzlies for a week.  That’s right, in tents, no electric or other fence, camping amongst 40 grizzlies. And what a week it was!

And  the photography, oh my! In just four days, the three of us had over 36,000 images of grizzlies. These are just a couple quick outtakes here, by no means the cream of the crop, just ones I could quickly post.

We had over 40 grizzlies with us, a couple right next to our tents at night and literally beside us during the day. We’re heading back out to a new site tonight so won’t be blogging again for about a week.

I’m limping along having a great time shooting with our son Jake and the griz!  We also became friends with some really neat people who also added to the adventure. Thanks Dan, Rachel, Tom & Larry! And for the whole story, you’ll probably have to wait for the book.

I can guarantee you, it won’t be a sleeper.

Photos captured by D3, 200-400VR / 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital flim (including the extra loaner cards we were supplied!)

Mid-summer hum drum?!

It’s the middle of the summer, most of the sping action has come and gone, best birds have started to move south, the big game are up in the hills staying cool and us wildlife photographers are stuck holding the bag. What’s worse is the light, it’s just hurts most of the day, most of the time.

It’s time to head to the locale duck pond to just see what might come floating by that you can work. There’s nothing better than baby anything, like these goslings. When done right (which they are not here), they are money in the bank. Really, big time sellers these little fuzz balls are. So though the light sucks, not the most visual of exciting of subjects, you work your craft and try to make something happen.

You just never know what might happen in front of your lens that brings a giggle to the heart. And when that happens, you’re a better person for it!

Photos captured by D3, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital flim

Happy 4th of July!

The WRP Staff, Sharon Jake & myself wish you all the best this 4th, wishing you all the freedoms this vast land has to offer your lens!

D3 Firmware 2.0 is released

Nikon has just made available firmware updates for the D3 and D300. The D300 is one little thing, the D3, well, it’s quite a list.

Modifications enabled with upgrade of A and B firmware to v.2.00

• Images captured with “Rotate tall”, in the playback menu, set to “On”, are not automatically rotated for display immediately after capture (image review).
• The following changes and additions have been made to “f4: Assign FUNC.Button > FUNC. Button + dials” ; “f5: Assign preview button > Preview + command dials”, and “f6: Assign AE-L / AF-L button > AE-L / AF-L + command dials” menus in Custom Settings:
• • The “Choose image area” option has been separated into two options, “Choose image area (FX / DX / 5:4)” and “Choose image area (FX / DX)”
  • A new “Shooting menu bank” option has been added.
• When “Choose image area (FX / DX / 5:4)” or “Choose image area (FX/DX)” is selected and the function button (Fn) is pressed, the image area setting is displayed in the top control panel, in the shooting information display, and at the bottom of the viewfinder.
• A “Copyright information” item has been added to the setup menu. When “Copyright information” is enabled, the copyright symbol ( © ) is shown in the shooting info display.
• “Recent settings” can now be displayed in place of “My Menu”.
• The virtual horizon can now be displayed with shooting in LiveView mode.
• The “Vignette control” setting can now be confimed in shooting information.
• The “Vignette control” item in the shooting menu now supports all types of G- and D-type lenses, except DX and PC lenses.
• The “Vignette control” compensation value has been optimized for shooting with “Active D-Lighting”  the shooting menu.
• Electronic analog exposure displays are now shown in the control panel and shooting info display while the exposure compensation setting is being applied.
• The degree of the “High ISO NR” setting can now be confirmed in the shooting info display while the “High ISO NR” setting item, in the shooting menu, is being applied.
• Design of the FX-format icon in the “Choose image area” setting has been modified.
• Ankara, Riyadh, Kuwait, and Manamah have been added to the “Time zone” options for the “World Time” item in the setup menu.
• When a GPS device is used and no heading information is available, –.–° is now displayed for the “Position > Heading” option in the “GPS” item in the setup menu.
• When shooting in LiveView mode using Camera Control Pro 2 (ver. 2.2.0) or later with a PC-E lens, the aperture setting can now be adjusted from the computer.
• Autofocus performance has been improved.
• Auto White Balance performance has been improved.
• An issue that, in some rare circumstances, caused the battery indicator to blink, regardless of actual battery charge, has been resolved.
• Errors in the German help displays have been corrected.

For further information regarding the new firmware, download the supplemental document for the new firmware, D3_FirmUp200_Jp.pdf.

The supplemental document for A firmware version v.1.1.0, and B firmware v.1.11, D3_FirmUp110_111_En.pdf, is also available.

Adobe Acrobat must be installed on your computer to view this file. Click here for more information on how to download and read pdf files.

If you use the WT-4a, DO NOT update at this time.

Oh Boy, New Toys!

As many of you already know, Nikon today announced today the D700 and SB-900 (street price $3000 & $500 resp.) Both are solid additions to the line, the SB-900 is what I’m looking forward to seeing the most. Mo Power is always a good thing!

When I have them in hand and run them through actual field work, I’ll post some thought.

It would see our man Friday, Joe McNally has been shooting with the D700 & SB-900. You might check it out here.

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