Bearly Relaxed

[Ken Watkins]

Taken in Northern Svalbard, 5th September 2009

EOS 1D MkIII

500mm F4 IS hand-held from MV Stockholm

F7.1, 1/5000, ISO 800

[Marc Mol]

Lovely playful pose, well captured here Ken. Plenty of fine fur detail with a nailed exposure. Is this a rolling snow bath?
TFS

[Ken Watkins]

Lovely playful pose, well captured here Ken. Plenty of fine fur detail with a nailed exposure. Is this a rolling snow bath?
TFS


Just checked the surrounding images and yes it is, this was the mother that featured in my IOTW winner, cub was just wandering away.

[Alfred Forns]

Love those Pbears and can't think of a better pose !!! Must be a treat to photograph !!! Image just perfect for me Big congrats !!!

[Todd Frost]

Love the pose, exposure and sharpness look good. Looks like you had a very productive trip with these bears.
Todd

[peter delaney]

another excellent image, Ken... great detail in subject, composition is spot on..some would have cropped tighter. but it works very well as is...

keep them coming.. would love to hear more about your trip , did you do a blog,or a trip report.. have always been tempted to go on workshop with a top pro.. be interested to hear about your experience .

[Callie de Wet]

It's a bear's life . . .Love the pose, and excellent exposure, This one deserves an EISH, its nisj, Ken.

[Steve Kaluski]

He was fun Ken, thought he might have be looking to do a centerfold the way he posed & rolled. A different perspective to my version, like it.

Steve

[Ken Watkins]

He was fun Ken, thought he might have be looking to do a centerfold the way he posed & rolled. A different perspective to my version, like it.

Steve


Its not a he it is a she, it is the same bear as in your Christmas card. Have you posted the other poser?

[Steve Kaluski]

Its not a he it is a she

Must be all that facial hair:D


Have you posted the other poser?

What was his/name?:D:D:D

[David Fletcher]

Nicely done Ken. Love the pose, and the way the colors pop. WD!

[Morkel Erasmus]

love Svalbard images. great pose and exposure here Ken. see you met Steve on your trip. was he the tour guide? if not who was?

[Ken Watkins]

love Svalbard images. great pose and exposure here Ken. see you met Steve on your trip. was he the tour guide? if not who was?

I really should ask Steve to answer this, but Steve was a a fellow traveller, our tour leader was Andy Rouse.

[Steve Kaluski]

LOL :) Steve

Morkel, I carried Ken's bags ;)

[Morkel Erasmus]

LOL :) Steve

Morkel, I carried Ken's bags ;)

yeah, well, he's got so much glass I'm not surprised he had to get someone to help him lug it along ;):D

[Sabyasachi Patra]

LOL :) Steve

Morkel, I carried Ken's bags ;)

Steve,
You have competition for the next time round. ;)

Ken,
Are you listening? :D

Nice image. I am amazed at the number of good images coming from that trip. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Ken Watkins]

When you get to my age just holding the lens is bad enough, my bag weighs 19 kg, takes a lot of pretence to get it on a plane.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Ken,
I was a toddler when you were in Hampi in India. So I had no intention to disrespect you.

Carrying camera equipment is such a big pain. I wonder how you manage that. It is amazing how steady your hands are. I always marvel at the way you shoot handheld. I have recently started handholding my 400 f2.8 +2x combo, when it is absolutely necessary to get the shot. And, I know how painful it is.

Last month, in one of the trips, I was trekking. I saw a feral buffalo. I had to click in a burst and run away to avoid them. Though I got two shots with critical sharpness, I know how tough it is for me at this age. Don't know for how long I would be able to enjoy this. And considering that my dad passed away due to improper medication when he was only 69, I know any day can be the last. It is sad that in my country, we can't even sue the doctors.

I draw inspiration from you. Hopefully, I can document the wildlife here for a long time to come and keep on campaigning to save wildlife. Hats off to you Ken.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Ken Watkins]

Sabyasachi,

I did not think you were disrespectful in any manner, my comment was done in a joking manner.

I would prefer you to be a fellow photographer on future trips.

Thank you for your kind words, to be perfectly honest it is the nicest comment anybody has made to me in a long time.

The pain is worth it for the added flexibility that is why I love the possibility of usable higher ISO. On my first trip to India we only had 100 ISO Agfa.