Aug 4, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG27668.swf, 500, 402 [/swf]
Spring cubs (born during the winter) are just the cat’s meow when it comes to Grizzly Bears. They are cute, funny and just a ton of fun to watch. While we had a number of cubs come to the falls during the week, it wasn’t until the last day we had this family of spring cubs.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG27596.swf, 396, 600 [/swf]
They appeared in front of the lower platform, we were standing on the upper one. I was going to just be satisfied to just watch them rather than run down to the lower platform. Normally when you do that, you miss something great where you were only to get down and find what you were chasing has gone. But then Kevin grabbed his 200-400VR and headed down there. The peer pressure was just too great (or the competitive nature in me) so I grabbed a camera and headed down. Thank goodness the upper platform was basically empty so we wouldn’t have to worry about our spot there.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG27663.swf, 396, 600 [/swf]
Kevin was smart, the cubs were still right next to the lower platform and performing. They were trying to keep up with mom, but their little legs couldn’t rock hop the river quite as well. It was one heck of a lot of fun watching them slip and slide and whine as they did their best to be Grizzly Bears. mtc
Photos captured by D3, 70-300VR on Lexar UDMA digital film
Aug 4, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG28214.swf, 500, 402 [/swf]
As the salmon left milling around at the base of the falls got fewer and fewer, confrontations started. Grizzly Bears know the harm they can inflict on each other so they so everything they can to avoid it. The signs are pretty obvious, they start with what appears to be a yawn. That progresses on to foaming at the mouth and jaw popping. The ears go back, the eyes move, face narrows, all to avoid coming to blows.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG28284.swf, 505, 402 [/swf]
And then the explosion happens. They have the fastest right you’ve ever seen in boxing, exploding from the water and coming down on their opponent. It was that intensity that I wanted to captured with every click. These two images were taken just 4 seconds apart.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG28474.swf, 500, 402 [/swf]
We saw more fights this afternoon than in all my years working with griz. This photo is one of my favorites. The fight is over the one thing that is tack sharp, the salmon.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG28483.swf, 500, 402 [/swf]
And the outcome of this fight? The bear lost his fish to the bear coming after him. The crowd on the platform was not happy by this turn of events but neither was the bear who lost his fish. That’s how it goes though. Photographically, I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of making the images shooting at 1.8fps. It forced me to keep a keen eye on the action and depress the shutter release when the moment was right. I love challenges! mtc
Photos captured by D3x, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film
Aug 3, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG28031.swf, 396, 600 [/swf]
Ted’s look just about sums it up, the fishing, she ain’t so hot. At it’s peak, the river is boiling with salmon. For the last few days we could see them patrolling the waters but today, we have to strain to see fish in the water. Ted literally walked a lot of the river trying to find fish.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG28252.swf, 396, 600 [/swf]
Is that a spaghetti noodle or salmon he’s got there? It almost doesn’t seem it would be worth the while of a 800lbs bear to be spending energy for such a small thing, yet they do.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG28105.swf, 396, 600 [/swf]
Photographically, it was a challenge to make something of such small fish. Graphically speaking, when you used a shorter lens, you could barely see the fish. So that meant getting tight just to see the fish. When you get that tight, you look them right in the eye and there’s the challenge. Catching the look that tells the story. This guy caught fish after fish after fish and as such, was target of other bears like you see below.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG27507.swf, 500, 402 [/swf]
Despite their size, fish are fish and with a dimensioning supply each one was sought after. So as the day unfolded the tensions got hotter. This is just the start of one bear trying to find an easy meal from another bear. mtc
Photos captured by D3x, 600VR w/TC-17e (bottom) D3, 70-300VR on Lexar UDMA digital film
Aug 3, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG27746.swf, 396, 600 [/swf]
I know it’s silly, it doesn’t work this way, but on the last day of any adventure, I ask for it to be the best day, to finish with a big horrah. It rarely happens. In this case, I was hoping at most for a run of salmon to have come up from the lake, be jumping and bears on top of the falls catching them and at least, some bears to be present.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG27472.swf, 500, 402 [/swf]
Ted was present which brought a smile to me. He was always good for a clean click. He was real active this day, moving from his hole and working the entire river using every technique you might imagine for fishing.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG27541.swf, 500, 402 [/swf]
He provided me many an opportunity to make some of my favorite clicks of the trip. This is an example of one of them. It’s a real simple photo that works with his body gesture, the light that is bouncing off his coat and the depth of color around him in the swirling water. Clean, simple and speaks so well what it is to be a griz fishing. What I thought would be a slow day and anticlimactic ending to a great week was about to break wide open! mtc
Photos captured by D3, 70-300VR on Lexar UDMA digital film
Jul 31, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_bmp3910.swf, 500, 402 [/swf]
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.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_bmp3983.swf, 500, 402 [/swf]
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.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG26646.swf, 500, 402 [/swf]
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
Jul 31, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG25686.swf, 500, 402 [/swf]
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.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG26072.swf, 500, 402 [/swf]
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.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG25957.swf, 500, 402 [/swf]
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!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLBECG26027.swf, 500, 402 [/swf]
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
