Polar Bear Juv -2

[Sid Garige]

Canon 7D, 100-400mm at 100mm
F8 1/1200 ISO 640

[Ken Watkins]

Sid,

Yet another with stupendous light, I love the contented look.

I might have been tempted to go slightly wider, great slushy ice in this one.

[Harshad Barve]

Excellent image Sid , Exposure is bang on
TFS

[Lorant Voros]

Very nice pose, look and soft light. I especially like the facial expression. Congratulations.

[Rachel Hollander]

Sid - another great shot. Like the light and pose. Not sure I'd want to be so close as to be able to shoot this at 100mm. Is it cropped at all?

TFS,
Rachel

[Sid Garige]

Sid - another great shot. Like the light and pose. Not sure I'd want to be so close as to be able to shoot this at 100mm. Is it cropped at all?

TFS,
Rachel

Rachel,
This is a full frame image. I am not sure if I will go this close to a polar bear again.
-Sid

[Robert Amoruso]

Another with great light and pose. If possible, getting the horizon line above the head or below the nose would have been nice.

[stuart wanuck]

sid would like to speak with you reg next trip to alaska
call me great image 561-685-2613

[Don Lacy]

Sid when I told you to be careful before your trip that meant not to shoot Polar Bears full frame at 100mm love the pose on this one he looks like A giant teddy bear sitting there.

[Grace Scalzo]

Sid, While I admire your polar bear images, your reply in Pane #6 leads me to ask you about getting this close to polar bears. I would like to know more about this situation and whether yours, and by your presence, the bears safety, were in jeopardy?

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Sid, great light and exposure. What a mighty fellow. The 100mm angle-of-view is definitely helping here to capture the environment nicely.

[Sid Garige]

Sid, While I admire your polar bear images, your reply in Pane #6 leads me to ask you about getting this close to polar bears. I would like to know more about this situation and whether yours, and by your presence, the bears safety, were in jeopardy?

Grace,

Thanks for your kind words.

To better explain the situation, we spotted this guy around a mile away on the beach and realized he was walking straight towards us. We walked back to our boat, pulled the boat back 20 yards from the beach and positioned the boat with sun behind our backs. After couple of minutes he approached us and sat on the bank curiously looking at us. I went up to the bow and positioned as low as I can and photographed this guy. Even though I was in a boat and 20 yards away from the bear, there is still a possibility of him reaching us in a blink of an eye if he wants to. I have good faith in my guide and relied on this experience in judging the situation. Positioned low at the bow of the boat I was aware I did not have an escape option if some thing unexpected happens. If I have to do this again, probably I will sit in the back of the boat there I can move from one side to other if required. Also, I would not position myself 20 yards from a bear on land. My safe distance on land is around 50 yards and 500mm will be my choice of focal length.

If ours and bears safety was in jeopardy? ofcourse, yes. IMO big mammal photography is all about taking calculated risk based on conscious decisions. At that point I made a decision it was fine to shoot. It was right for me I completely understand if It is not right for others .

[Jeff Dyck]

Great image. Full frame at 100mm!? You are a braver man than I...