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Archive 2018 · Oh Canada

Thang
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p.4 #1 · p.4 #1 · Oh Canada

Man these are best of the best

Apr 03, 2018 at 12:29 PM

DesertBighorn
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p.4 #2 · p.4 #2 · Oh Canada

Oh my Eric!! You might want to rethink capturing more bear images!

These will be hard to top!

-Doug

Apr 03, 2018 at 11:26 PM

judyb13579
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p.4 #3 · p.4 #3 · Oh Canada

Images were taken at Watchee Lodge.
Shame on me for going there.
Second time this year, early in the season.
Bears, yes. But they are systematically harrassed, so that people can "get their shots". Those are the guides` words, not mine.
So that people can get "walking shots", mom is harrassed so that she gets up. Yes, everybody knows this , but anything for a shot.
Wonder why the bears are (often) in great spots - well, the trackers on snow mobiles "position her" there. They claim that the park allows them to make her get up 3 times, so that people can get their shots. Even if that is true, do you want to be part of that? And, yes, everybody knows. When I was there, people were crying as the trackers chased mom around for 2o minutes, in full view of us. All "to get the shot". Ask Morris (one of the trackers). Do you really want to support this? Or close yur eyes to it, "to get the shot"? Mom is stressed, there were wolves around. According to the trackers, what they do (the trackers) is nothing compared to the danger they face from wolves. REALLY. And, yes, everybody there knows that the bears are pushed around. It is $900 a day, there is pressure to provide bears to the clients.

Apr 04, 2018 at 03:54 AM

eyelaser
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p.4 #4 · p.4 #4 · Oh Canada

My experience was quite different and my "take" on it was as well. But let's give it some perspective. Firstly, bears are seen infrequently....this was not what I had expected....a typical experience is 2 sightings out of 7 days and if very lucky maybe 3 (we saw one). Every season (about 5 weeks in total) is different and unpredictable. You go in vans with treads instead of tires and wait at a central point as spotters on snow mobiles comb the area for bear families that have just left their den on their way to the sea. The snow mobiles can cover much larger areas in much less time as they can go upwards of 60mph whereas our vehicles are unable to go faster than 5-7mph. So you wait in hopes of getting a call that bears have been spotted close enough to get to in a reasonable amount of time. In the meantime, you just wait, maybe take a short walk....I brought an ipad and read a number of days...the vehicles are heated but we all chose to keep the heat off and windows open to make sure our cameras had acclimatized....all shooting is done on foot outside the vehicles and not tundra buggy style.
In this instance, no bears had been sighted for 10 days (5 before we arrived and for the first 5 days we were there and this was a dubious record for lack of sightings). Bears that were found in wooded areas were left alone and no attempt was made to coax them out into the open. In our situation with the bears on the move, we were able to see the 2 trackers on snowmobiles from quite a distance and there was no indication that they tried to position the bears whatsoever. Is it possible they drove in such a way to get the bears in the open? Perhaps, but that did not seem to be the case as we viewed from a distance. I don't know just how often the bears are in great spots but the better photographs occur when they are so those may be the images one sees more often. Certainly, the sighting that occurred 4 or 5 days after we left was not in a good photographic location as evidenced by the images I have seen. During our sighting, there was zero harassment of the bears. They sat about 90 yards from where we photographed and no one attempted to go any closer and nothing was done to coral them or inhibit their movements. Having photographed in the wild for 40 years I can tell you that you don't get intimate shots like I was able to when the animals are under duress. It is true that the spotters might attempt to "hold the bears" once they have initially settled....a euphemism for creating a situation for getting the bears to settle down....this might include simply turning on a snow mobile engine or driving them in a big circles. I don't know how frequently these maneuvers are employed but in this instance we had none of that....we watched and photographed for 4 hours and left the bears exactly where we found them.....mother bear made a day den and settled in. Sometime between when we left and the next morning she had gone on her way. I am very sensitive to "bad behavior" and would be the first one to call it out and certainly would not support any situation that supported stressing out wildlife. I will not dismiss the comments above as I was not there to witness what she did but will say that my experience was entirely different and would go back in a heart beat. Should I go back and encounter a similar experience to judyb I will certainly call it out.
Eric

Apr 04, 2018 at 07:30 AM

Paul Rossi
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p.4 #5 · p.4 #5 · Oh Canada

Excellent set. Some of the best I have ever seen. Very marketable images.

Apr 04, 2018 at 08:38 AM

runakid
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p.4 #6 · p.4 #6 · Oh Canada

Wonderful pictures . Thanks for sharing.

Apr 04, 2018 at 09:14 AM

Karl Witt
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p.4 #7 · p.4 #7 · Oh Canada

Congratulations Eric on your featured thread

Who is judyb13579? What an odd way to jump in on a thread by a non-participating member, I think those comments should have been to you in a PM for discussion before someone pointed a finger at your experience. Frankly her comments don't belong in this thread at this time IMO though I entirely respect her feelings of what she experienced and it is saddening to hear.

Eric I am glad you explained your experience in your outing as well as your integrity of which we all here know about you

Karl

Apr 06, 2018 at 09:28 PM

kdacharya
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p.4 #8 · p.4 #8 · Oh Canada

congrats on the well deserved win, sir. it's good to have you back.

Apr 06, 2018 at 09:34 PM

OwlsEyes
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p.4 #9 · p.4 #9 · Oh Canada

Absolutely Amazing images Eric!
:bravo:

Regards, Bruce

Apr 06, 2018 at 09:58 PM

birdied
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p.4 #10 · p.4 #10 · Oh Canada

Congratulations Eric on a most deserved win. So well done and thank you for the explanation of how these shots were taken. I know you would not take part in an activity that would be harmful to the subjects.

Birdie

Apr 06, 2018 at 11:18 PM

DonGut
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p.4 #11 · p.4 #11 · Oh Canada

Thanks Eric for explaining our situation and experience.
Some other points that I will make, not in defence but simply as an observation.
You could argue that any wildlife that is approached for photography purposes is being harassed. Almost any wildlife that hasn't been exposed to human encounters would not normally allow close approach. I have been to many places around the world and truly believe it. But that is better than approaching the bears to hunt them.
The fact is that since tourism has come to Churchill bringing people to see the polar bears, very few bears have had to be killed, and not one in over 25 years. Before that bears near town were considered a hazard and were routinely shot.
Now the bears are studied and protected and the population has been stable for years.
It takes a mom and cubs up to 10 days from the time they leave the den until they get out on the sea ice. Our encounter lasted 4 hours. So our time with the bears was only 2-3% of their time on this journey. The do rest for long periods of time during their trip, so I doubt our presence made any difference.
By showing my photos and talking about my experiences with the bears I have enlightened people about their existence and the main threat to their survival, which is global warming. The Churchill bears are the most southerly population in the world and the one most vulnerable to climate change, with most experts predicting this population will be gone in 25 years or less.
As much as I hate to think this, I believe we cannot save top predator species by ignoring them. There is just too much stress on their habitat the world over. By making them a "sustainable business" we just might be able to protect them for future generations. And that is the business of observation and photography, like it or not.
And I did talk with Morris at the Lodge in Watchee. ( I don't sleep much and they were around late at night watching hockey and shooting the breeze). He is the tracker and owner of the Lodge along with Mike, the mayor of Churchill. These guys are passionate about the bears and their safety. The bears are their business and I know they would not do anything to endanger their survival.
Thanks Eric for your description of the way the Lodge runs and our experience.
Don

Apr 06, 2018 at 11:37 PM

eyelaser
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p.4 #12 · p.4 #12 · Oh Canada

Thang wrote:
Man these are best of the best
Thanks so much Thang...sorry we couldn’t meet up...had an unexpected delivery...a granddaughter 2 weeks early in San Fran😄
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DesertBighorn wrote:
Oh my Eric!! You might want to rethink capturing more bear images!

These will be hard to top!

-Doug
Thanks Doug, I’ll accept the challenge but do realize that it may be a tough one.
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Paul Rossi wrote:
Excellent set. Some of the best I have ever seen. Very marketable images.
Many thanks Paul...we were very fortto have such a wonderful family sitting in the perfect spot.
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runakid wrote:
Wonderful pictures . Thanks for sharing.
Thank you...it was an incredibly emotional experience for me to see and photograph this beautiful family.
Eric

Apr 07, 2018 at 10:39 AM

eyelaser
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p.4 #13 · p.4 #13 · Oh Canada

Karl Witt wrote:
Congratulations Eric on your featured thread

Karl

Thank you Karl for your support. You’ve been there from the beginning and know me and my values as well as anyone. There are many disreputable places and people but those at Watchee are not amongst those. Their passion towards the bears is obvious and not driven solely by profit.

Eric

Apr 07, 2018 at 01:42 PM

eyelaser
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p.4 #14 · p.4 #14 · Oh Canada

kdacharya wrote:
congrats on the well deserved win, sir. it's good to have you back.

Thanks so much KD. I will continue to share images that I think are worthy of posting and hope you enjoy those as much as these.
Eric

Apr 07, 2018 at 01:44 PM

eyelaser
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p.4 #15 · p.4 #15 · Oh Canada

OwlsEyes wrote:
Absolutely Amazing images Eric!
:bravo:

Regards, Bruce

Many thanks Bruce...it was a special time with some amazing animals behaving in a way one doesn’t really expect from a predator with such a fearsome reputation.
Eric

Apr 07, 2018 at 01:47 PM

eyelaser
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p.4 #16 · p.4 #16 · Oh Canada

birdied wrote:
Congratulations Eric on a most deserved win. So well done and thank you for the explanation of how these shots were taken. I know you would not take part in an activity that would be harmful to the subjects.

Birdie

Thank you for all the nice comments Birdie. It was surely a once in a lifetime sighting and I could not have been happier to share it with Don. New have been very fortunate to have shared some wonderful sightings over the past couple of years and it makes the experience all the sweeter when you have a great friend at your side and literally shoulder to shoulder with you.
Eric

Apr 07, 2018 at 01:52 PM

AGeoJO
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p.4 #17 · p.4 #17 · Oh Canada

Hi Eric, I am a little late in congratulating you since I am out-of-the-country now, but what a well deserved win! Thank you for your explanation about the shooting conditions there.

Joshua

Apr 07, 2018 at 06:04 PM

Danpbphoto
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p.4 #18 · p.4 #18 · Oh Canada

I am speechless also Eric....just absolutely exquisite images! And these were your first encounter? I am envious to the max!!
Dan

Apr 08, 2018 at 08:53 AM

B Benson
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p.4 #19 · p.4 #19 · Oh Canada

Nat Geo stuff , love them. Bruce

Apr 08, 2018 at 10:15 AM

Dave Bachrach
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p.4 #20 · p.4 #20 · Oh Canada

Fantastic series of images! Well done

Apr 08, 2018 at 05:30 PM

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