Amazing shots! Can you give us some insight as to the trip - was this a buggy based trip or were you on the ground? How far away were you - are these shot with a 500mm or more like a 600mm + 1.4x + cropped image?
AGeoJO wrote:
Eric, these images are truly amazing ! It certainly looked like both you and Don came back with tons of wonderful images! The polar bear cubs are so adorable...
Joshua
Thank you Joshua...we were indeed fortunate to have such a fabulous bear family to photograph...it makes one forget the other days we just sat in the cold waiting and praying and going back to the lodge empty handed.
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RobAmy wrote:
Stunning set
Thanks Rob
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iammikie wrote:
Fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Many thanks Mike...glad you enjoyed them.
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psharvic wrote:
Remarkable set, Eric.
Thanks so much...it was a blast!
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kwilliam8 wrote:
Beautiful set of images! Really, really great!
Keith W.
Much appreciated Keith...a more photogenic family I couldn't have asked for
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Tom In Arizona wrote:
Hi Eric...
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks
Tom
Thanks Tom and coincidentally I used that same phrase over and over as I was photographing these guys.
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morris wrote:
These are a delight to view Eric!
Morris
Thanks my friend...pessimism was at an all time high for everyone after 10 bearless days...when the call came in we were excited but I still didn't get my hopes up until they were actually in sight.
Dave Inman wrote:
Oh man Eric these are spectacular. Heck of a great start in bear photography. I especially like #6.
Dave
Thank you Dave...if I'd known just how wonderful these guys could be I think I'd surely have done it sooner.
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phoenix7gtm wrote:
Amazing series Eric.
George.
Thank you George....hard not to love a mother and her cubs.
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Karl Witt wrote:
Your first bears of any kind have just earned you my vote for Feature Thread my friend
A knockout of a post Eric!
The first is a wonderful opener and comp....
#3 won my heart buddy
#4 is a delight
The last one is simply precious...............a rush of great feelings from these, that is what makes for a good image and you had the multiplicity factor going on here
Awesome
Karl
As always Karl, you know just what to say to make me This was such a special experience in so many ways and I really hoped it would come out in the images I took....I just loved the intimacy between mother and cubs and giving props to the whole group who never made a move to get too close...IMHO it is only when behavior is natural and unforced that one is even in a position to capture such special moments.
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arbitrage wrote:
2nd times a charm Eric. Glad you guys actually got to go this year. These are beautiful images of the mom and cubs. Send me a PM to tell me all about it!!
TFS
Geoff
PS There is some weird purple/green colour banding going on in some of the images, especially #2. I'd guess some jpeg artifact or something?? Blame Smugmug!!
Thanks Geoff...it was worth all we went through last year and this to come away with documenting such a special moment in the life of these bears...glad you were able to see that in fact that there are compression artifacts not present on high resolution images.
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kdacharya wrote:
i am speechless. It's no wonder that you are my role model. I strive for and crave for such shots. simply amazing. Glad that Don and you were successful. Eagerly awaiting for more of such great shots.
Thank you KD....I may not be able to put up 5 sets in row of 30-40 images but I was quite pleased with what I came away with...the experience alone was worth every nickel and being able to share this with Don made it extra special.
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mspencer1 wrote:
Spectacular set- the compositions and photos are truly amazing! The cubs are adorable. Wonderful work!
Margaret
Thank you Margaret...we were so fortunate in so many ways....for one, having such small cubs, no more than 10-11 weeks old insured they would stop and rest for quite a while. One can only hope for a sighting like this....I think I am quite spoiled now.
csinseattle wrote:
Eric, Great set of photos and well done.
Chris S
Thanks so much Chris, much appreciated.
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ox0312 wrote:
Awesome set Eric. I saw these on IG but looks much better here. TFS
- Faizan
Thanks, the low res images don't show up nearly as well on IG...and even here they aren't the same quality as when saved at 8-10x higher resolution.
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surfnron wrote:
Wow Eric. This is a super set and what a way to get introduced to bears! Now that you have the white bears, I can set you up with some black bears. Then you will be able to post color photos of each and they will still be black and white ~ Ron
Ron, thanks so much....I would love to round out my monochrome bear collection with you and Mitesh one day...this was special and I bet that will be too!.
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Bobg657 wrote:
Voted! Without doubt one of the best posts I’ve seen! Please do share info on the trip details!
Bob
You are too kind Bob....I was so fortunate to have what by all accounts from people who had done this before as a 9/10 sighting...after lots of wrong time and wrong place this was absolutely a perfect spot to see these guys. If interested let me know by pm and I will fill you in.
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johnohio wrote:
Outstanding images all the way through. Lots of emotion in these. Very enjoyable to view.
John
Thank you John...I'm glad that came across as it was my intention to show that as much as possible.
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dclark wrote:
Superb set of images! Technically flawless. Beautiful animals in excellent settings and poses. Hard to see any room for improvement.
Dave
Thank you so much Dave....I think there are a number of ways to process these and I chose what looked right to me....cropping a bit too even though these were shot at 840-1200mm was done to maximize the impact...I bet Don's will look somewhat different but be as good if not better.
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bobbytan wrote:
So damn cute, Eric!
Thanks Bobby...can go wrong with little cubs...almost like tiny stuffed animals compared to mom.
DonGut wrote:
Great post my friend. You took your processing in a different direction for sure!
Now I will be too shy to post.
And just a note to all; he's holding back the good stuff!
I introduce the guy to Canadian bears and look at what you comes home with.
Don
Hey Don...it will be very interesting to see your take on images we took side by side....I am quite sure they will exceed any and every shot Ive put up....first in gets first dibs of the accolades I suspect. I can not thank you enough for letting me tag along and in the end have one of those days of experiencing nature and being fortunate enough to get some images that I could not have even imagined in my wildest dreams. Next time, out on the lake for Northern Lights too!
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kmunroe wrote:
awesome set of bears Eric
Thanks Kenny
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mitesh wrote:
Eric,
I don't have the words to express how much I enjoyed viewing these images... this is one of the best set of images that I have ever seen on this forum! If Don is right and you're holding back the really good stuff, well, then, we must be in for a real treat soon !
Congratulations on persevering and making the trek out to Wapusk again! Fantastic work, my friend!
It is hard to respond to such comments from someone whose opinion I value to greatly. I can not say thank you enough my friend. We were so fortunate to have spent quite a bit of quality time with this bear family that day and come away with some pretty remarkable images. I'm not sure I've quite held back the good stuff but I know Don will post some that will blow you away....I don't think I've come back from a single day shooting that produced so many shots I was happy with...In time I will post more but will let my host get his day in the sun first.
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soupy wrote:
Wow! Just Wow! All of these are spectacular but # 4 just appeals to me.
Thanks so much Sue...there was lots of emotion and fabulous interactions amongst the 3 bears....we got very lucky indeed.
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davidgold wrote:
This is truly amazing captures.
Thank you David....it was a special treat for me to see in person.
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Rschultz wrote:
Wow wee, such great shots!
Thanks so much....we certainly had good subjects that cooperated very nicely.
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guidostow wrote:
Such a joy to see! Thank you for sharing!
Many thanks....it was a joy for me to finally see a wild bear and then to have them put on a "show" like that was quite special.
lowside67 wrote:
Amazing shots! Can you give us some insight as to the trip - was this a buggy based trip or were you on the ground? How far away were you - are these shot with a 500mm or more like a 600mm + 1.4x + cropped image?
Cheers,
Mark
Hi Mark, thanks so much...no, this wasn't a buggy based trip. We were on the ground about 80-100 yards from the bears. All were shot with a Canon 1DX2 with 600mm lens with either a 1.4 or 2x teleconverter attached. Most shot with anywhere from 500mm to 800mm with and without teleconverters....there is a trade off with longer lenses once the bears get up and move that you risk not being able to get the whole family group in frame. I was very happy with the IQ I got with the 600/2x...I was nervous that the images wouldn't hold up but luckily that was not an issue...having a very open and clear background did allow me to stop down a bit to f8 or even f1 which I think helped mitigate any problem.
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surgemaster wrote:
What a bear species to start out with, Eric. Might be down hill from here. Touching moments caught in a Polar bear families life. Well done.
Rex
Thanks Rex...and yes, I think you may be right....to have this as one's first bear experience will be a lot to live up to going forward....I think I'm up to the challenge...and if it doesn't pan out well then as someone once said, "We always had Paris".
H
Haha....I do and you will too!
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Thao_Nguyen wrote:
Stunning images Eric!!! Very enjoyable set
Thanks Thao...it was just one of those days we dream about
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DonGut wrote:
You certainly have a bunch of followers here. It's the "White Bear Syndrome".
Everybody gets all gushy when they see them!
Don
We hit the jackpot my friend...not sure if we could have done better....the bar is set pretty high for anything to top this sighting but I['m game....are you?
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sum1sgrampa wrote:
These are absolutely stunning ! Every one is perfect ! The light and the pose on the last image is breathtaking. Really, really well done.
Many many thanks....we got very lucky to have the (muted) sun behind us and an open background....and playful cubs....sometimes the stars align
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G.E. Smith wrote:
What a fantastic set! I can't seem to find the words to express how much I enjoy viewing these. Well done!
Thank you Greg....for someone who had never photographed a bear in the wild it was a particularly special sighting...it wasn't until after I spoke with others did I realize just how special
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Thanks Dave...we were quite fortunate to have such wonderful little ones who use mom as a prop.
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thanks so much Mansur
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John, thank you....when light and subjects play nicely together it is much easier....the experience was quite wonderful
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Thanks Pius
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Thank you so much....I try, in my photography to capture a little more than just the moment or the action....sometimes it works and sometimes not but having subjects like these to work with makes my job lots easier.
Touching moments caught in a Polar bear families life. Well done.
! It certainly looked like both you and Don came back with tons of wonderful images! The polar bear cubs are so adorable...
This was such a special experience in so many ways and I really hoped it would come out in the images I took....I just loved the intimacy between mother and cubs and giving props to the whole group who never made a move to get too close...IMHO it is only when behavior is natural and unforced that one is even in a position to capture such special moments.
!