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During a visit to Kaktovik I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours observing and photographing this mom and cub interact. From first shot to last in this series spans two and a quarter hours. It was late afternoon and there was a weather front moving through with low, fast moving broken clouds so the lighting changed continuously. Some of the clouds were heavy enough to provide the dark BG in a few of the images. WB was all over the place from clear blue above and low, late afternoon sun to heavy cloud and snow.
Shortly after the shoot I did the typical cherry picking which from this series was just the last one that is posted here. The rest lay in my files unprocessed until the past few days. It is amazing how much the color of the bears' fur changes with lighting/WB. Depending on conditions and processing the fur ranged from creamy white to golden blonde to nearly orange. In my processing my aim is always to reproduce the scene as I remember it. In the following I believe that was achieved.
Mom lying down and the youngster ready to pounce on her for a tussle.
Play time
Dinner time
Mom offering up dessert
Couldn't resist the shot showing bottom of the paws. Mom was rolling in the snow.
Shaking it off.
A good look at momma bear.
They found a stick to play with.
The cub was easily amused.
Mom taking a good stretch.
Mom trying to take a nap but the cub still wants to play
Beautiful set of images love all the great interaction you caught between Mom and junior. The ones she is looking at you send a little chill down the spine. They are all great. I love the last one with the dark blue background with the snow coming down.
Wonderful group of shots. I too love the interaction shots. There a a bunch of great shots here but Dinner Time, Shaking it off and Sweet dreams are my favorites.
Hoffer wrote:
Excellent
Hard to pick a favorite
Thanks for commenting.
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louie champan wrote:
What an excellent series of images, fantastic job with them all.
Thanks, Louie.
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Douglas L wrote:
Amazing series!
Thanks so much, Douglas.
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Tom In Arizona wrote:
Hi Dan...
These are just incredible. Such great photography and such wonderful scenes. Voted.
Tom
Thanks, Tom. Glad you enjoyed them.
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Dave_E wrote:
Beautiful set of images love all the great interaction you caught between Mom and junior. The ones she is looking at you send a little chill down the spine. They are all great. I love the last one with the dark blue background with the snow coming down.
Dave
Thanks for commenting, Dave. They do have a penetrating look when they give you a stare.
johnohio wrote:
Wonderful group of shots. I too love the interaction shots. There a a bunch of great shots here but Dinner Time, Shaking it off and Sweet dreams are my favorites.
John
Glad you enjoyed them, John. Sweet Dreams is definitely the "money shot". That little flurry came through for just a couple of minutes.
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morris wrote:
Sweet! The interaction is great and your photos are spot on
Morris
Thanks, Morris. It was tough shooting that day.
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G.E. Smith wrote:
Dan - These are fantastic. Who doesn't love polar bears. Really enjoy looking at these. Great job with the PP.
Greg
Thanks for the kind words, Greg. Glad you enjoyed the shots.
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shibutg wrote:
Beautiful set! I'm jealous ,
Love this set, great actions, snow and subject, you nailed it! Voted.
Shibu
Glad you liked the post, Shibu. It was a good day to be there for sure.
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