ATT 2011 Calendar
Polar bear cleaning fur, Beaufort Sea, arctic Alaska. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f/4L IS, 1/320 sec. @f/5.6, ISO 800, hand held
For 25 years AT&T has had a tradition of publishing a calendar that is distributed freely (and download-able as a screen saver–I’ll share that link when it is available). I’ve had my work selected for some of those calendars, and this year, they took a slightly different angle by selecting a wildlife image. In years past I’ve had some runner up wildlife candidates, but none that made it all the way to selection. It’s hard to find a more magnetic and iconic subject of Alaska than a polar bear. Once you watch one play in the frigid icy waters of the Beaufort Sea, their adaptations to live in the landscape they do is beyond remarkable.
How a photo is made is often of equal interest to me as the photo itself. This particular shot was “on the margins” in all ways. Low light, high ISO, marginal shutter speed, cold hands having problems focus tracking–but the movement slowed enough for the shutter speed to sharply freeze the face. I attempt to think panorama when I’m in the field, since I gave up the 6×17 film camera years ago. It’s a challenge to think compositional when you don’t see the whole scene, but there are times when it works out. I often photograph panos for the express reason that they include “extra” negative space, which is a design element that is strongly desired, and usually not an element that is fitting for fine art prints. This frame is a stitch of two images shot side by side.
I will have some new material of polar bears on my website soon, and I’m excited to share some of the cool scenes. You can see more polar bear photos and arctic wildlife photos respectively on my website.
