Young polar bear stands up for a better view along Alaska’s arctic coast. Canon 5D Mark III, 500mm f/4L IS II, 1/400 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 640
The polar bears are abundant along Alaska’s arctic coast as they wait for the ice to form on the Beaufort Sea. Warm weather has kept the snow at bay, at least at this point. This curious polar bear stood up for a better view and I’ve learned by their posture when this is about to happen, but the 500mm lens I had on my camera was a little bit too tight to capture the whole animal with a little room to spare. Most of the shooting from a mobile platform like a boat is done by handholding. It is not as difficult as it may sound, with a little practice. As it turns out, I find focus point selection to be far more of a challenge than hand holding, and very few photos are blurry due to camera shake. This particular bear is a one of two cubs, already pretty sizable at two plus years old.
