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Wildlife Image of the Week for the week ending July 12th, 2013: John Ippolito - Challenge
Congratulations John!
Brown Bear
Shelikof Strait, Alaska
D800, 500 f4 VR, ISO 1000, f/7.1, 1/1000, tripod/Wimberly at knee level, crop from top, NX2, CS5, Luminosity Masking.
A friend and I camped out for the better part of June on a wild and windswept Alaska Peninsula beach. I'm just now sifting through some of the images.
We encountered this moderate size adult male brown bear and quite a few others exhibiting aggressive displays of dominance, leading to a number of close encounters in the field.
This male spied us from across the tide flats, making an unambiguous, direct approach for more than a hundred yards. We held our ground - the bear eventually getting inside the focus range of the 500, finally making a slight detour to our left, passing at less than 3 yards with a few jaw pops and huffs. Large males with a surfeit of testosterone may try to intimidate you. Sometimes it is wise to back off or step aside while they are still some distance away - other times it is best to hold pat. Knowing body language and a gut feeling about the bear's mood is key.
