Brown bear (ursus arctos) and red salmon (oncorhynchus nerka)
I watched this female brown bear capture many red salmon in the Brooks river of Katmai national park, in southwest Alaska. She had one cub of the year to feed, who watched from the river bank keeping alert for other bears. This picture was taken at a focal length of 700mm, which makes it seem closer than it actually was, but even still, I happened to be in a position that did not allow for me to back up easily, which sometimes happens photographing bears. The bear had approached me while chasing fish in the river, so I grabbed a few shots before she walked back to the bank to feed her cub. Photographing a moving subject, in low light, with a long lens resulted in many out of focus shots. The depth of field is very narrow at f/4 at this distance, and the eye needs to be sharp. This was a successful one, and I liked how it reveals the dexterous manner in which the bears can handle fish, she is holding it with her teeth by the dorsal fin.
I have shot extensively at Katmai, and you can see more images on my website: Katmai National Park and Brown bears
A perfectly exquisite portrait! Wow!
Hi Patrick- I continue to enjoy your blog posts and look forward to each new photograph. I most enjoy your wildlife photos that show the animal as part of the landscape. I beleive it takes as much or more of an artistic eye to capture that type of photo rather than a close up portrait. With that said, this particular bear photograph is so striking and beautiful because of the compositional elements you have captured. It’s a true winner! The bears head and the salmon both serve as diagonal lines, while the sweeping paw coming into the lower left fills a somewhat negative space with an indication of action as well as power with those claws. Add to that the sense of motion from the water and the fish, the dynamic red of the salmon, and the eye of the bear. I stared at this one for a while! Beautiful work, as usual! Thanks.
Dick Thomas
Dick and Tim, thanks for appreciating my work and taking the time to comment.