Platform Rumor comes to life Day4

Rumored wildlife sightings go along with the “you should have been here yesterday” in my book. We were told of a Gray Wolf working the river stealing salmon from fly fisherman. While I don’t get all spooled up about such rumors, I do keep them in mind. When in griz country, I tend to do a 360 degree visual inspection around me every couple of minutes. It was on one of those inspections I saw the wolf.

You should have seen the heads fly up from the viewfinders when I called out wolf! It was on the far bank and skulking about in the trees and shrubs at first. I hesitated before calling out wold because without a real clear view, the thought crossed my mind it was a Coyote but once I saw the muzzle, I made the call and it was made famous. After not too long, he came down to the river and went to work finding scraps and plying his trade.

Yeah, he went to work trying to steal salmon from a griz! Ballzy if you ask me. He never scored directly off a bear, but he found plenty of tidbits to make his journey worth while. Though he was around for only a little while, it was darn fun to watch the show.

Photos captured by D3x, 600VR w/TC-17e (top 2), D3, 70-300VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

A Change in Strategies Day4

With the masses of salmon gone from the river, the bears are fishing those left below the falls. We can see the salmon in the water but they aren’t jumping. So in the pools where they’ve gathered, the bears gather and defend. them What looks like a sleepy bear is actually a bear displaying his displeasure with a bear getting too close to his fishin hole.

Mom & the kids showed up again, they are always good for a chuckle. Mom is really working the river in front of the two platforms, catching every salmon she possibleycan in every possible style of fishing. Here, she’s trying to get an aerial view of the one pool of salmon. She stood up many times to get the best view which was great since the first time, I was watching through the 600VR. I switched quickly to the 70-300VR on my shoulder and caught her next dance.

I mean she would do anything to get a little higher. Have you seen anything sillier, a Grizzly Bear, 800lbs of bear perching on top a stone in the river?! But sure enough, there she is doing it!

The best part of the whole story is she is passing this all on to her kids. And who’s the best student watching everything mom does? Yeap, the oldest cub, the trouble maker.

Photos captured by D3x, 600VR w/TC-17e (top) D3, 70-300VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

Meet Ted Day3

While the wind finally has calmed down, the clouds have thickened up and sprinkles came and went today.

At first, I didn’t think much of Ted. Though a big male, he was on the other side of the falls, the furthest he could be from us and didn’t do much. I mean, this is how we saw him most of the day. Just staring off into the pool.

And if he wasn’t staring off into the pool, he was like this, his head under the water. The longest time he had his head under that I saw and counted was 21sec. Was he a successful fisherbear using this style? Yeah, he caught salmon but they weren’t really big ones and he didn’t catch them that often. For such a big bear, I wondered about him. He has one big ass scare on his rear flank. I wondered if that hampered his mobility at all which is why he had the particular fishing approach. Hope he’s around tomorrow though, he’s a great looking bear and if he comes closer, he will be fun to photograph!

Photos captured by D3x, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film

He’s showing his age Day3

One of the two oldest bears showed up at the falls today only to find no jumping salmon. Well into his seoncd decade of life, he moves a little slowly, goes where he wants to and is given the respect and space his age has earned.

Check out that lower lip!

This is one of those times when it’s cool to see a bear without its winter fur. You can see first hand the scars this male has earned during its life. I thought about counting all the scars  but too late, but personally, I’d never seen a bear with so many. Testament to both a long life, but a hard one as well. The other old bear hasn’t been seen this year at the falls but they know he’s around because they have found his DNA dropped around. I’ll let you figure that one out for yourself.

Oh, and that thing I found by accident that I like, I do like it now that I’ve done it on purpose. I’ve shot now for the last two days with the lens wide open, f/4 or f/6.7 and between that and the 600VR or 600VR w/TC-17e, it really make the bears visually pop from their world here at the falls. Along with the amazing quality the D3x captures, the files are stunning. For me, this is a major shift in my big mammal shooting. While I think it’s something I’ll just like at the falls with the bears, it’s something to work with in time elsewhere.

Photos captured by D3x, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film

They are characters Day3

We arrived at the platform early today (won’t do that again) to find it stuffed with day trippers and a one hour limit on the platform. We also found the family snoozing next to the platform, well sort of. To get the shot, I had to go high! Coming late, I was like three rows back from seeing the action let alone photographing it. Having the Gitzo 5560 with me, I simply went up literally which permitted me to shoot over everyone heads. I’m telling ya, these guys are dynamite!

It’s raining on and off, glad I have LenCoats on the six & body, makes working a whole lot easier. Those here with plastic bags covering their gear can’t get them off fast enough when action happens.

Photo captured by D3x, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

Speaking of Characters. Day2

A family of four showed up today, the very definition of characters in the fur. Mom is great, works hard to keep the kids and herself fed. She has three two year old cubs, one is a handful, one pretty calm and the last afraid of its own shadow.

The oldest seen here on the right looking cute and innocent is anything but. He is a handful now and will be a pain in the ass when an adult. Already in life, he has mastered stealing salmon from his mom. Competition between cubs can be intense but this kid takes it to a new level. He even tries to steal from the males at the falls. That could be fatal but it doesn’t seem to stop him.

What makes him even more a character is when he steals some fish, he shows it off. Seriously, he hams it up for what seems like the crowd on the platform but probably more likely it’s to rub it in the faces of his siblings. He’s a pistol!

Then there is the smallest bear. The crowd pleasure because everyone felt it was a runt and not likely to live. Don’t think that’s the case but it didn’t stop all the ahhssss. All three cubs are in the middle of their molt, too bad because I bet by this time next month, they will be filling out with a gorgeous coat. Hope they stick around, they are fun!

Photos captured by D3x, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film

Where’d they go? Day2

I take my vacation seriously! We are in total relax mode. We get up, mosey in for breakfast, upload images (and post a couple) and then after our early dinner, we head up to the falls where we stand for 6-7hrs and enjoy the bears. This works great as most folks leave just as we’re arriving to everything. The plan was working great until….

We reached the falls today to find the bears just staring at the water. Why? The salmon run stopped. Yeap, for the third time in a row, we’re at Brooks when there are no mass esof salmon jumping. Oh well, means we’ll have to comeback again. Hot Dogs!

That’s OK, there are plenty of bears to watch and photograph. Most of the bears present now are full of character that they more then make up for no jumping salmon. It also gives me an opportunity to explore something I think I like, need more time to shoot and play before sharing but I think by accident I have a new approach.

And the wind, it hasn’t stopped, still! While not quite so nasty as the last couple of days, it still has Lake Naknek all a foam. With the salmon still spooled up in the lake, the bears are out fishing in the lake, finding the schools as you can see by standing up and looking. They are such characters!

Photos captured by D3x, 600VR w/TC-17e (except last image) on Lexar UDMA digital film

One day gone already?

The big boys in full coats are rare at the falls today. A couple of the big boys while present have shed their beautiful winter coats and now are sleek eating machines. Of course that’s what they are supposed to be, but they just don’t have that classic bear look to them. This bad boy is an exception so I kept an eye on him throughout the evening. It was dark to be shooting action, this photo taken at 1/45 (ISO 100, I don’t crank up ISO). The one shot shooting of the D3x requires working Peak of Action which caught the head sharp, but the salmon is soft.

The wind didn’t stop. During the night it blew and blew, some saying 70mph gusts. Other than some leaves falling on the tent, didn’t bother us. But it did kick up Naknek Lake into surfing conditions. And who took advantage of it? That’s right, the bears. We spotted this griz walking the shore and doing just that as we walked back to camp. I wasn’t able to get on the beach to get the surfing shot, the bear was too close and the Park Service keeps folks at a minimum of 50 yards from a bear. Oh well, the week is young and there are more pixels to fill. mtc

Photos captured by D3x, 200-400VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

Back in Familiar Haunts

After the mile walk up to the platform, it was great to put the tripod down and have Grizzly Bears in the viewfinder again. It’s been 9 months, too long and 8yrs since being at Brooks. Some things don’t change much, falls look the same, salmon though obviously not the same ones look the same and even two bears look familiar other than fatter and with a couple more scars.

The bears were catching salmon with little effort with 14 bears at the falls this evening. Believe it or not, but being on top of the falls isn’t the prime spot. The bears up there have the #3 & #4 spots, they have to work to catch their meals. While the shooting was hot, I had a cold start. I’m a bit disappointed at the ethics and common courtesy not being shown by other shooters on the platform. I spent my first hour without even able to set up my tripod and shoot, some folks didn’t get the memo about limited space, closing up tripods and remembering to smile, they’re not at the office but with griz!

After looking through my previous Brooks bear images, I decided to change up a few things this time. The first was I changed from A WB to Cloudy on the D3x and I really like the results for these conditions much better. I also decided to focus in more on the humorous moments between the bears. This one cracks me up, the one bear relishing its catch, the other drooling over what he can’t have. It was a great first evening. mtc

Photos captured by D3x, 200-400VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

#1, image protection!

When I’m on the road, making sure the images are protected and get home safe is top priority! That’s why I have relied on the Epson image safes since they first came out. Here you see Sharon with her Epson P5000 and I with the P7000 (Sharon has the hand me down) sitting by the fire in the lodge looking at our images we just copied from the evening shoot.As you can see, we found a bear or two to photograph our first night at the falls.

When on the road, I COPY my cards to the P7000 before I upload them to the notebook. I don’t edit the image in the P7000, rather it’s a safe that gets all of my images back to the office and it works like a charm, saving my butt twice in the past. With the amazing battery life of the P7000 (can upload 8-9 16GB cards on 1 battery), I can load and look at all my images on its large, gorgeous screen. I have 3 spare batteries which I know will take care of 10 days of shooting. My only question is, will the P7000′s harddrive hold all the image from the week from the D3x (yeah, you can view D3x raw files on the P7000). Time will tell.

Where’d that wind come from?

Oh man, is it windy! With gusts up to 50-70mph, we couldn’t land on Naknek Lake, but rather on Brooks Lake. So it was a new logistical challenge. Not for us, but for Katmai Air who being pros, had it all worked out. They bussed us down to the bridge, it was open so we crossed, checked in at the Visitor Center for the campground (made a new friend, HI Zac!) and then headed into the lodge for lunch.

Sharon couldn’t wait to get camp set up. With it being 1/2 mile away, the Park Service makes available these cool carts to get your gear to camp. With all the gear, it took three carts to get all the gear down to campground. No, Sharon didn’t pull the cart, the guys took them down.

But by her reaction, you’d think she did! Na, she was happy because the new tent went up without a hitch. With all three tents up and all gear stored, cameras are out and we’re heading off to the falls. We already had a couple of bears at camp so she has her wish, camping with bears. Keep in mind, I’m on vacation so the posts will be on the humorous side

And up we go

One of the benefits of flying out of Mammoth or Reno is Horizon Air who serves complimentary wine & ales. After seeing so many blogs by my good friend McNally with his Starbucks on the seat tray, when the light hit the fine plastic glass (great for a nice Merlot), I had to make a click. I wanted to play with the light more (like a white card behind the glass) but the plane turned and the shaft disappeared. Light does that.

Traveling to AK and making flights to out of the way places like King Salmon or Brooks, padding the schedule is a must because of weather delays. And when the delays occur, you’re glad you have the padding. When there are no delays, you have to sit around the time your planned into the schedule. So, we found some power, plugged in the computers, put our feet up and watched a movie while waiting for our flight out to King Salmon.

Once in King Salmon, the great folks at Katmai Air picked us and our stuff up at the airport and took us over to their facilities. There we weigh in, us, our carry on and check luggage before boarding the float plane to Brooks Camp. I’m not about to confess to the weights, let’s just say we had more than the average camper heading to Brooks. Yeah, we’ll be camping with the bears. mtc

Can we squeeze anymore in?

Packing to go out for a week of shooting AND camping takes a little more dear, a little more thought. For example, I blogged a week ago about my quandary about whether to take 200-400VR or the 600VR or both. We figured out how we could take both lenses so that’s what we did. We’ll see how that decision turns out as we have to fly it all into Brooks and then make images.

We have to go with the presumption that we will have no electricity. While there is 120 at the lodge, there are only a couple of outlets and with so many digital shooters these days, might not get access to that. Went with the new Kelty Yellowstone 5 tent which will work nicely for our gear and the weather I think. Picked up a couple more of the Nomar Duffles that you see here. They have no wheels but they keep everything inside very dry. Will have to get luggage carts at the airport to deal with the tonnage. We have maxed out on weight, that should be interesting.

Otherwise, we have with us our normal shooting gear you find on Moose Camera Bag page under MP-1. I was so excited, couldn’t get to sleep last night. This is going to be great, I can feel it!

Up the Hwy We Go

Whenever I pull out the P6000 when I’m driving, Sharon gets nervous. I dunno, but after doing it for decades, I’m rather use to shooting while driving. This is the view up Hwy395 as we turn on it from our home in the Sierra.

We’re on the road again, heading up to Alaska and Brooks Camp, better known as Brooks Falls. We’re on vacation, going up with our good friends Kevin & Janet Dobler to camp with the Grizzly Bears. I’ll be blogging all week about our exploits so be sure to come back, see if we cheat death one more time.

I had this all framed, then….

We were heading out to go get dinner when I saw this formation over the mountains. While we were pulling over, I had visualized in my mind a totally different cropping for this image so grabbed the 70-300VR. I was going to go in tight, I thought the dead space above and below the main clouds as needing to go away. But when I looked through the viewfinder, I didn’t like what I saw at all. I quickly switched back to the 24-70 and zoomed back to 55mm and went click.

Looking at the image for awhile, I’m pretty sure that without the foreground and space in the sky above the clouds, they just seem less mighty. They need that space to breath, spread and be all that thunderheads need to perform their magic. It was a good lesson, one I’ve tucked away in the back of my head.

Photo captured by D3x, 24-70AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film

I just can’t get enough of them

I know I’m not alone in the attractions of clouds. We’re starting our normal late summer monsoon season which can produce killer formations in the afternoon. This afternoon was no exception. We went up to Mono Lake as that’s where the tallest clouds were performing. By the time we got there, they had gone east but as they went over the mountains, some moisture was squeezed out and the sun caught the drops creating some cool towers. When it comes to the B&W thing, that was Nik Silver Effect. You can learn how I use that by heading the video library and clicking on the link.

Photo captured by D3x, 24-70AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film

Nikon 28f1.4 AF

Just when I thought I had this series done, I had a number of request for a video on a discontinued Nikon lens, the 28f1.4 AF.

The View from Jake’s room

That thick meadow we call a front yard is a nursery right now full of small critters finding easy cover to grow. Well Jake has created a pretty sweet shooting gallery right from his bedroom window. It’s a miniature version of what I have at my desk. He can spin to the left at his desk and shoot the spring kids (he has his WII to play while it’s slow out the window, I ain’t got that).

These are baby Panamint Chipmunks, there are four in this family that are enjoying the seed Jake has put out for them. They are so darn cute. When they greet each other, they smell each other which to us, looks like they are kissing. To get the photo, flash fill was required to bring up the colors in the pelts. The flash feathered so it wouldn’t hit the foreground. I gotta go now, Jake wants his shooting gallery back.

Photos captured by D3x, 600VR w/TC-14e on Lexar UDMA digital film

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