Join Portia Polar Bear’s Birthday Wish Facebook Fan Page

Today I’ve posted the video that describes the making of Portia Polar Bear’s Birthday Wish. Margie Carroll and and I teamed up to showcase the life of a polar bear cub that comes to realize she isn’t like everybody else in the arctic. Her mother tries to console her but she also turns to her other arctic friends for reassurance and confirmation. It’s a feel good story that will introduce young people to one of natures most charismatic and beautiful animals and tells a positive tale that inspires acceptance of others that are different.

It’s a book that Margie and I are self publishing  This is a big day for us both. I’ve published seventeen books to date, all with so called normal publishers. But this book is different. With Margie and I self publishing this title it means we have full control. No longer will we have to accept the publisher not promoting our book in any way. Our first trade show is the Association of Zoos and Aquariums where we’ll be talking to people about Portia, polar bears in general and helping Polar Bears International staff their booth. It will be a great way to jump start the christmas season and get the word circulating about Portia Polar Bear’s Birthday Wish.

We hope you can all help us do that. One way will be to sign up on the Portia Polar Bear’s Birthday Wish Facebook Fan Page. We’re planning a unique opportunity for all of you who love polar bears, are concerned about how the warming climate will affect these amazing animals  and want to help raise funding for all the projects Polar Bears International is supporting through Research, Stewardship and Education. We’re calling it the Portia Readers. We’re currently working on this program but in short it will consist of individuals taking Portia Polar Bear’s Birthday Wish in to the neighborhood and hosting readings to the local children. Stay tuned and chime in on Portia’s Facebook Page if you would be interested in this unique opportunity.

My merry band of photo buffs getting serious about their photography

June 18, 2010
It’s a gorgeous day as I  make my way to Seattle from Bozeman.  Lots ofholes in the clouds that give intermittent views of thesaturated, verdant greens of the Pacific Northwest. The pines show patches of dead, rust colored needles. The pine bark beetle has ravaged SW Montana, Idaho and parts of Washington. It’s been a wet spring, with torrential down pours from peaks to valleys for several weeks and admittedly it’s become a bit old but you won’t hear me complain. I’ve spent too many years in the mountains with too little moisture. Often, by fall the place is burning to the ground. I’m hopeful that won’t be the case for 2010 but only time will tell.

My journeys end is the great state of Alaska. I’m leading a small group of photo enthusiasts on a weeks worth of brown bear photography. Not sure how many times I’ve stepped foot in this last great land of wilderness and wildlife but it must be at least three dozen times since my first Alaska adventure back in 1986. I never tire of this land where the wildlife outnumbers the people. The variety of photographic possibilities are endless. Over the seasons I’ve shot humpbacks in southeast, grizzlies and muskox at the base of the Brooks range, Dall sheep in Denali, Fall colors in the Alaska range, aurora borealis in Fairbanks, black bears along the coast, moose on the peninsula, gyr falcons, ptarmigan, ice bergs and polar bears. It’s the land you can’t forget.

See more photos by clicking on this link.

June 19th.

A Bush plane waiting for a new owner

The morning begins with a great breakfast at our hotel in Anchorage, the Crown Plaza. Big beautiful rooms and comfortable beds. The weather is cool but thankfully dry. We make our way to Lake Hood where our bush planes where waiting. We meet our pilots, weigh ourselves and our gear and by 10:00am we’re off flying over the waters of Cook Inlet, winging our way southwest above the wild Alaskan landscape. In route we see numerous gravel pads scattered across the topography. I ask our pilot what they are. He pulls back the right cup of his head phone and shouts. “natural gas wells”. I immediately am reminded of the ongoing environmental disaster still spewing in the Gulf of Mexico. I haven’t seen any news for several days but I hear it’s still gushing. Off to our left on the far horizon are what looks like oil rigs. Alaska is rich in fossil fuels and I’ve  bought into it all just like everyone else. I’m saddened but hopeful that all of society will  start working to find a better solution than what we’ve all been using for so many decades.

On our arrival we’re greeted by our host.  Not far from where we’ve landed a mature, bald eagle adorns the top of a pine tree. First-timers to Alaska, my friends and guests Dave and Shiela are giddy with excitement, “that’s the stuffed bald eagle that’s put there for greeting new arrivals”, I say with a smile. The eagle jumps from it’s perch and glides off along the shoreline Dave and Shiela’s mouths drop open and give me a smiling glare. “ I was joking you two”.  I then remind Shiela that I do have four sisters.  We jump in the four wheeler, a trailer hitched to it’s tail filled with duffel bags, driving off to the lodge with smiling travelers. It’s a beautiful place. A large carved, wooden brown bear stands at the entrance of the trail to the door. Smoke drifts lazily from the chimney, spiraling up nearly straight as the lodge pole pines of Montana. We enter the lodge doorway, remove our shoes and say Wow.

June 22

The star of our week a female with cubs.

The last two days have been spectacular. The bears are here in numbers. Our favorite subject is a beautiful female with two cubs of the year. They are cute beyond belief, especially when you’re able to take the time to watch and truly observe. It’s a fact of life that probably 60% of these beautiful, little creatures will not make it past their second year. Typically they fall victim to the large males patrolling the sedge flats and forests. It is the way of the wild, something we humans rarely understand anymore.

Spending hours on end in the field is the fun part of being a wildlife guide/photographer. I’ve never been one to keep a check list of what I’ve seen and I sometimes regret that. However, typically not, since I generally spend enough time that I don’t forget who or what I saw. My method of operation works for me. I would much rather spend hours, days and sometimes months watching a particular species than to run across the planet making a check list that records momentary, fleeting observations. There are people in my business who have done that and have done it well. Financially several would be considered much better off than I but few have truly been as blessed.

A good example is my work with brown bears. I’ve been coming here to Alaska to experience these creatures for over ten years. Often for 3-4 weeks at a time. My work with polar bears has been an obsession for over twenty. My second book involved documenting the lives of black bears in northern Minnesota and that encompassed a four year window of my life. Whtetail deer was nearly seven years and so the story goes.

The weather has been exceptional. Our host informed us upon arrival that it had been pouring for nearly a week. We luck out and get dry, sunny skies for over three days. A front is moving in and today the clouds blocked the sun around noon. However, the light this morning was breathtaking, prompting me to rise at 5:30am and gathering everybody for a 6:00am departure. Our goal was to see if the female with cubs was taking advantage of the low tides to gather clams on the beach. Unfortunately, she didn’t show but thankfully a different individual was working hard at gathering the rich, protein laden bounties of the sea.

Brown bears digging clams is quite interesting. They have amazing dexterity with their 3-4 inch claws, easily prying open the shells of these sand loving mollusks. One paw pins the bottom part of the hard, protective case as the other reaches over the top and gently snags a seemingly nonexistent edge. Gently she flexes her claws, drawing them up as if closing a fist and “snap” the shell gives way. The bears nose darts to the open meat delicately sitting on the half shell. Her jaw protrudes forward, a long dexterous tongue shoots out from her lips and as she sucks the rich, meaty protein in you can hear her her slurp. It’s quite entertaining and an obvious delicacy that draws many a bruin to the open tidal flats for an advantageous meal.

Our time with the bears lasts for a couple of hours. Breakfast is waiting back at the lodge as the sun dissolves the last remaining wisps of clouds. We gather up our gear and head inland.

Bright blue skies prevail, harsh white light envelopes the land and the only shadows one can see are beneath the soles of your boots. Photography is all about light and when the light is shining straight down it’s time to put the camera’s aside. Shadows are what create the feeling of three dimensions in a world where the medium is only two. It’s the element that makes a good photograph great, a dull picture snap. We spend our time in the lodge critiquing pictures and talking about the different locations we all call home. Lunch comes and goes and a few take in an afternoon siesta before we venture out to try and find the star of our week, the beautiful female with her cubs of the year.

Our guide Drew is ready and waiting at 3:00pm, the trailer gets loaded with camera packs and tripods, tired bodies climb aboard the aluminum trailer and we set out to scout the sedge flats. We don’t have to go far. Drew stops within 30 yards of the lodge, literally from the back to the front. He puts on the brakes and says in a soft, deep baritone voice, “we’re here”. Each of us stop our conversations in mid-sentence and look out across the waving grasses. There, out beyond the open meadow, a football field away, was our celebrity family of bruins. The cubs were in rare form. Yesterday they had been rather sedate, somewhat sleepy. Today they were like raging wrestlers. Jumping, running, biting, swatting, rolling and tugging. It was hilarious and a great opportunity to shoot the moving pictures I’ve come to enjoy so much. They gave us a show for a good hour then slowly walked in to the alders. Cubs in the wild doing just what cubs are supposed to do. It’s one of the most amazing scenes in nature.

A lone male adolescent brown bear makes his way across the tidal flats searching for clams

June 23

It’s nearly 8:30am and we’re already back at the lodge. We left for an early morning shoot hoping to find bears on the tidal flats feeding. Unfortunately only one bear showed and he was a young adolescent that proved uncooperative yesterday so we left him to to his morning chores of finding clams beneath the sand. The air was much cooler than recent mornings past. We stood on the berm of the coast waiting patiently for a subject to come our way. Slowly the conversation turned to the thought of a warm cup of coffee. Breakfast was mentioned a time or two and then there was the comment about the light having faded behind the approaching clouds. We waited another thirty minutes then packed our bags and loaded our gear. It was a another spectacular morning in the wilds of Alaska.

Unlike the norm, our Alaskan coastal adventure has been bright and sunny. That’s just not typically the case. Since we’ve been having such good light our schedule has been filled from dawn to dusk. I rise about 5:30am, check to make sure the sun is shining and if it is I wake the others and we head for the tidal flats. We shoot for a couple hours then head in for an 8:30am breakfast. At around 9:30am we gather our gear and head back out to the sedge flats hoping like excited school kids that mother bear and her two adorable cubs have come out of hiding. It’s been a fairly effective plan and for four straight days we’ve eventually found her. Around noon we make our way back for lunch. Appetites satiated, it’s an hour or two of discussion and lessons on how I perform my workflow duties with my digital files. A nap’s in order after to much time on the computer and before going our separate ways we agree to meet at 4:00pm for our afternoon shot before dinner. The light is starting to get better at 4:00 and the mother with her twins seems to like this time of the day. Once the hour of 7:00pm rolls around we’re back at the dinner table for more nourishment then back to the field from about 8:30pm till the sun drops behind the mountains at 10:30pm. As I said, Dusk to dawn.

June 24

Linda Henry walks the trail from the lake back to the lodge.

The morning was uneventful. Clouds on the horizon obscured the warm morning glow of sunrise. We shot what we could but spent most of our time working with a little female bear who was busy digging clams. We ended back at the lodge earlier than we would have liked but we used it as an opportunity to visit the lake. The lake sits a half mile or so from the lodge. It’s a good trail and there on the shores are two canoes. Linda Henry and I decide to go check it out. There are supposed to be a pair of Trumpeter swans nesting and moose are fairly plentiful in the area. Along the path we see moose, bear and wolf tracks. The lake comes into view and we make our way to the canoe. It’s been many years since I’ve paddled. Growing up in northern Minnesota gave me many opportunities to perfect my paddling technique. One of my favorite places was the BWCA and north of that Quetico Provincial Park. Paddling the calm, lilly padded waters of this northern Alaska lake made me yearn for another trip to the canoe wildrness of the upper midwest and Canada. We take a 20 minute paddle then head back to the lodge. No wildlife other than a beaver that slaps his tail as we rounded a bank on the lake.

It’s our last day in the field and we have a few clouds today. We followed our similar schedule and in the afternoon mother and cubs did not disappoint. We had left just after lunch, drove down to the Silver Salmon Creek, sat there along the banks and shot the breeze for an hour or so. Here we waited for the stars of the trip to reappear. Nobody showed so it was off  to the other end of the meadow. On our way we begin to pass the thick alders and spruce trees that provide such abundant, impenetrable cover. We would regularly see the bear family emerge from this thick, mass of near solid undergrowth. The trail ran just beside this wall of vegetation and as we motored slowly along Dave begins pointing over my shoulder behind me, stammering,  ‘bear, bear, bear’. I peel around and see mama brown bear on the hill just feet beyond the trail, looking down, out into the meadow. Our guide Drew pulls the four wheeler past several yards and we all quietly scamper out of the trailer reaching for camera bags and tripods.

The next two hours are spent watching, waiting and taking pictures. It’s an opportunity in wildlife photography that doesn’t come often and when it does you know it is special. The cubs are playful beyond belief. Mother grazes contentedly. the cubs are running, rolling, swatting at each other, tugging on ears, biting, jumping and running some more. All the while it’s a game of tag with bursts of energy that end with one standing swatting at the air only to fall back on it;s haunches as he looses his balance. It makes you laugh inside and the you realize how much these two baby brown bears have changed in even a week. We all noticed it. They were much less brave just only a week earlier. Their confidence had grown, their physical stamina had increased, their curiosity was on the rise. they were fast becoming the infamous Alaskan brown bear.

The two brown bear cubs of the year that made our trip

Our afternoon with the cubs lasted for nearly three hours. It’s lengthy amounts of time like this spent peering into the world of an animals life that makes my job so rewarding. Not in a monetary way but in terms of getting to know another creature in a more  profound, exhaustive manner. Many of my projects have included spending vast amounts of time with specific species of animals. It’s this colossal payback in life experiences that makes this job something I still love and want to do more than anything else I’ve ever been able to dream of. Sharing that experience with others is nearly as rewarding.

June 25

Our day to leave has arrived. The clouds have returned and the air is cool. We all pack our bags and wait patiently in the lodge’s great room, Drew informs us he’ll be watching for the Cessna’s. One comes ahead of the other and makes it landing on the shoreline landing strip. Dave, Shiela, and Mitch take the first plane out. Linda and I hang back waiting for the next set of wings to soar us back to Anchorage. fifteen minutes pass when Drew pops his head in the door and encourages us to get our gear, “the plane is on the beach”, he offers in his low, monotone voice. We make our way down to the plane and within minutes we’re aloft. Out over the coast and heading north towards Anchorage. It was a great trip but I’m looking forward to summer in the Rockies. My trip home to Bozeman begins.

]]> http://www.naturalexposures.com/corkboard/?feed=rss2&p=725 6 http://www.naturalexposures.com/corkboard/?p=710 http://www.naturalexposures.com/corkboard/?p=710#comments Sun, 13 Jun 2010 01:16:49 +0000 danieljcox http://www.naturalexposures.com/corkboard/?p=710

Mother polar bear and her two cubs recently out of the den. Canada

I recently helped Polar Bears International and our good friends at Frontiers North Adventures (FNA) put together an informational sheet about polar bear facts and figures. It’s a sheet FNA will be giving to their guests who come to witness the annual polar bear congregation that takes place each fall in Churchill, Manitoba. My contribution consists of  a small list of tips on photographing white subjects, in this case polar bears, on snow. Even more important are the facts it contains such as:

• May 2008 the US considers polar bears an endangered species.
• 60% of all polar bears live in Canada
• Polar bears depend o sea ice to hunt and in some cases den.
• Scientists have concluded that the biggest threat to polar bears is ecological change in the arctic due to climate change.
• Biologists estimate there are 20,000-25,000 polar bears in the arctic.
• Support PBI’s Adopt a Polar Bear Campaign. Read More at the PBI web site.

One of the little cubs in the photograph above is the cub featured on the cover of our upcoming book Portia Polar Bear’s Birthday Wish. You can read more on an earlier Blog.

Photo tips for capturing Polar Bears or other white subjects on snow.

• When shooting a white subject on a white background—such as a polar bear on snow—first make some observations. Is it a sunny or cloudy day? If it’s cloudy, you need to compensate for your camera’s meter by turning your exposure compensa- tion dial to +1.3. If it’s sunny, you don’t need to add anything—just shoot.
• A good composition is key to a good photo. So, apply the rule of thirds. That is, think of your viewfinder divided with lines like those on a tic-tac-toe board. Align your shot so that important elements of your picture appear along these lines or at their intersections. Your images will have more energy, tension, and interest than if you center your subject.
• Even quality autofocus (AF) camera systems can be fooled by the light-colored fur of a polar bear—especially on a cloudy day. If your camera isn’t focusing, position the AF sensor on the bear’s nose or eye. Press the shutter button just enough to lock in the focus, reposition the camera for better composition, and shoot.

Cover of Portia Polar Bear's Birthday Wish

A few days ago I mentioned that we had a new children’s book coming this fall. It’s a book I’m especially proud of due to the  incredibly creative way the author weaves a positive life lesson into a book about baby polar bears. It will be great reading for the young and young at heart and I’m hopeful you will enjoy the photos as well. The author Margie K. Carroll selected the pictures and did all the design work on top of writing the text. She’s a very talented lady and a very good friend.  We’re both pitching in to split the costs of self-publishing and I could never have picked a more qualified and unique individual to be business partners with. I’ve included a photo of the cover for a sneak peak as well as a shot of Margie working in my studio selecting photos for the book. I was quite humbled and amazed at her ability to find just the right image to tell the story she had already written. Margie sorted through hundreds of thousands of images over a three day period, 12-15 hours/day. We plan to have books to market by September 1, 2010 just in time for the Christmas season. We’ll be adding a sample of the book in the near future in a format that will allow a viewer to flip through pages on a computer similar to looking at the actual publication. Stay tuned. Let us know if you enjoy the cover. You can see photos of Margie’s big adventure to Montana by clicking on this link.

Outdoor Photographer ARTtrust Article

We just recently had an article published in Outdoor Photographer describing my work with a new company that helps photographers and other print media artists prove the authenticity of their work. It’s called ARTtrust and was developed by a company working with Hewlett Packard. HP is the company that produces all of the Fine Art printers I use in my office to produce my Fine Art Prints. ARTtrust is a great new tool and we’re happy to offer this service to all of our art enthusiasts who collect my prints.

Dan's image from Africa used in American Photo

The May/June  issue of American Photo magazine recently featured one of my images in a story titled the Worlds Best 25 Locations to Shoot. It was an image representing one of my favorite place on earth, Kenya, Africa. I’ve been traveling there for fifteen years now and I never tire of it. You can take a look at a video of our last trip this past January. It was another fabulous year of great photography. We’re doing it again in 2011 and you can find out more by visiting our web page detailing the adventure. Or you can click on the Africa video below for a look at what we all experienced on our last trip to this amazing continent.

Kenya Africa 2009

Take a look at my recent shoot with Musk-ox for The Arctic Documentary Project

I’ve always been intrigued by the early days of the United States and how our government funded projects of special places–places they felt needed to be captured in words and pictures–for all of humanity. Yellowstone National Park was one such glorious example. Yellowstone had tremendous coverage just before and during it’s beginning phases of becoming this nations first national treasure. It was obvious to our early politicians how special this place was. John Colters stories of bubbling mud pots, steaming geysers and heated azure pools helped drive interest and yet disbelief of how such a place could exist. The first expeditions to the park inspired the likes of William Henry Jackson and Thomas Moran as well as Frank Haynes. The first of this group Thomas Moran a painter and Jackson and Haynes, photographers. all of them specializing in capturing this magical place in it’s most pristine condition, documenting it for the rest of the world to see and appreciate for the rest of time.

The world has obviously changed a great deal since those days in the 1800’s. There are still artists that spend untold hours laying brush to canvas or paper and there are certainly still photographers capturing one of a kind moments. But our governments interest in supporting long term documentary projects has waned considerably. How can we blame them with over 300 million people in the US and growing. Many of them with cameras of their own. Why support a documentary project when you have tens of millions of people shooting photos of some of these special places. One could make the argument that with so many people it’s even more important to document what we have left but to do so in an organized manner.  Document the last remaining wild areas, the last remaining creatures, the last pristine valleys, the last blue skies, just document the last of whatever wild is left.

I’ve quite procrastinating. I’m setting out to do my own documentary with the help of Polar Bears International. We’re calling it The Arctic Documentary Project. In reality I’ve been doing this–documenting the arctic– for over twenty years already, yet time seems short. So much of what we have left on this planet is changing quickly, most quickly in the far north. We’ve seen that changes can happen overnight such as the oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. There’s a very good possibility we may never see the Gulf again brimming with the  life we all took for granted. Instantly one major catastrophe most likely changed it forever.

Quite often I think about changes that have taken place that I never knew before they were gone. Take for example the 60 million bison that used to roam the plains of North America? I find it hard to even comprehend such massive numbers of this immense animal? I’ve always been moved and deeply bothered by how easy it is to not miss something you never knew. Once something is gone, like the bison, life is very normal. We take it for granted that the fences and tilled lands strung out from east to west is the norm. More than once, as I’ve traveled the plains of Montana, I’ve envisioned the landscape without fences. When you run into a park or protected area without the barbed wire you get the feeling of freedom. It’s quite inspiring and depressing at the same time.

I don’t want to not know, nor forget the arctic. I want to experience it before it’s gone and in doing so collect images, stories, experiences and more to share with the rest of the world. I’m hoping it may make a difference. I’m hopeful that telling these stories will build appreciation for what many may never see. That’s my longterm goal and I’m hopeful that you will join me.

This fall Polar Bears International plans to release a book with many of my arctic photos I’ve produced over the years. It’s going to be a very unique project with an unusual twist. I can’t say anymore at this time for we’re still working out all the kinks but suffice it to say it will be unique among all arctic books in several different ways. This will be the first installment of The Arctic Documentary Project.

As time passes I will continue to shoot. I’ll be collecting still images and moving images, sounds and interviews. All of it with the long term goal of preserving a land in word and pictures. Creating a historical record of what we once had. Stay tuned for several of the first interviews I’ve produced of several of the worlds leading polar bear scientists. All be adding those to this blog in the near future.

I’ve just returned from the Alaska tundra where I was producing material for a new book project on documenting the changing arctic for Polar Bears International. Before I left Nikon was kind enough to send me their newest digital SLR the D3S for testing and evaluation. I was most interested in the video features so much of this blog will relate to that. There are numerous web sites that go into lengthy details about this camera so this is a relatively short but real world analysis of this amazing new camera.

Overall I was quite impressed with the new D3S. My role as a still photographer has changed dramatically in the last year and in fact I no longer consider myself a producer of just that medium. The future is all about multimedia and so my interest in the D3S revolves around the fact it can capture both fabulous stills and spectacular video.

Capturing moving images with the D3S is simple and straight forward. The buttons on the back of the camera are adequately placed although in a perfect world I would love to see the Live View button combined with the video activation button which starts the video capture process. Currently the Live View is an inch or so below the video start button and I’ve seen other cameras that have the two combined making it even more quick and easy to start the video capture process. It’s a small issue but one that can make a huge difference when that decisive moment takes place whether it’s a still or moving image.

The D3S records video in the AVI format which is easily accepted by all programs that I’m currently working with including all of the Apple programs such as Final Cut Pro, IMovie 09 and the newest version of Aperture. This is a bonus since I’ve experienced the better quality but more difficult format of Panasonic’s AVCHD video format. AVCHD is a higher quality compression but so far many software vendors aren’t writing for it. I hope that changes. But as I said the D3S makes this a simple process by creating files that are AVI.

Arctic Documentary Project produced with the Nikon D3S

The quality of the 720P files are simply astounding. I’ve included a couple of samples for you to review. Admittedly you won’t see the true quality of these images since you’ll be seeing them on your computer and they were exported for small viewing screens but trust me they are incredably beautiful. Would I like 1080P? Absolutely but for now 720P is plenty, especially for most of the projects I’ll be using it for. Would I be excited if Nikon brings us 1080P in a a new body? Most assuredly I would. Lets hope for something that tops even the stunning results I’m already seeing in the D3S. One thing to keep in mind that many people don’t know about Nikon Video cameras is that they shoot in nonlongop format. What does this mean. I’ll try and explain. Many videop and DSLR cameras shoot what is called LONGOP video files. I’m not quite sure what the acronym LONGOP means but what it does is this. When the camera begins to record a scene it shoots one frame and then interpolates 15 additional frames. This allows many more frames to be captured quickly. The opposite of this type of video capture is where the camera captures one specific frame for each frame needed in a specific scene. The downside with this is that in Nikon’s case where they use the nonLONGOP technology, they are not able to use the 1080P capture. The upside is that since they are capturing an absolute frame for each frame in the scene, the quality of each video is higher than what you would expect for 720P as an example. This is the reason Nikon’s 720P is as good quality wise as Canon’s 1080P. However, people understand numbers and 1080P is easier to wrap your mind around than understanding what nonLONGOP technology is. It’s another marketing trick like so many that have come before. Do you all recall when everyone wanted to have the most megapixel sensors possible? Nikon has always believed its the quality of the sensor as opposed to the size of the sensor.  this may not be the most eloquent  description of the LONGOP and nonLONGOP technology so if anyone can send me a more scientific description I would love to see it. I’ve looked throughout the web to come up with a better way to explain this technology but can’t find anything on this subject.

The true and real advantage of Nikon creating this new video tool is the ability to use the incredibly diverse, exceptional high quality lens system Nikon has. This is especially true in the super telephoto category. For years I struggled and was always disappointed with the small camcorders that I’m sure we’re all familiar with. They were easy to carry but their ability to capture quality imagery, especially of wildlife at long ranges, was next to useless. The advent of the digital SLR video camera has turned that issue on its head. Not only is the quality far superior to anything I could capture in the past but the ability to change from capturing stills to video and back again is simply unequaled in the older video camera options. When shooting the D3S, or D300 which I’ve also shot, you can being taking still images and immediately slip over to capturing video within seconds of hitting the video capture button. It’s literally about a two second procedure. In the old world of having a sill camera and a video camera I was constantly frustrated by how slow a video camera was to startup. By the time the video camera was ready the video moment was gone. Additionally, not only did you miss the video opportunity but I was cursing the stills I had missed waiting for the video to fire up. It wasn’t a pretty scene. Thankfully that has all changed and I’m loving the new opportunities.

The new world of still shooters producing multimedia is upon us and I’m having the time of my life with not just stills but video, sound, narration and final productions that incorporate all of the above. I recently received an invitation from Apple to present my  new Arctic Documentary Project at the upcoming Canadian Apple Distinguished Educator (ADE) conference. They saw some of my work produced with the many facets of new media I’ve discussed above and were excited to allow me to tell my story. It’s an awesome opportunity to be around some of Canada s top and most respected educators, a chance to share my enthusiasm for the new world of multimedia and most importantly to spread the word about how climate change is affecting the polar bear and its arctic environment. It’s a great new day!

The reason has been people. It began at the Super 8 here in Anchorage. It began with a middle aged African American man who showed there are still hard working, quality people that have a concern for who they are and what they do. I first saw him in the breakfast room where he was back tracking to get the breakfast on schedule due to the late shift not updating the breakfast bar. He was polite, courteous and helpful. I admired his work ethic. I then went to catch the van to the airport. I was standing outside when he approached me and asked if I was leaving to catch my flight. I told him I was and he jumped into the same mode I saw in the breakfast room, grabbing my heavy, large bags and smiling the entire time. He drove me to the airport, putting me in the front seat where we had an enjoyable conversation about the weather, his service in Iraq and where he had come from. Does your body ever tingle when you meet someone so friendly and an obvious asset to society. His name is Lew Diggs and my only mistake was not taking his photo.

Lew dropped me off at the curb outside Alaska Airlines. George took over from there. George was as pleasant and helpful as Lew was. He took me to the Alaska Airlines counter, helped me get my tickets, offered to take my 86 pound camera case to the over sized baggage drop off , all the while talking and smiling seemingly at peace with who he is and what he does so well.

Next stop was the TSA agent who goes through big, suspicious bags like the ones I travel with. Cameras, battery chargers, lots of cords and other camera incidentals make everybody nervous. The young mans name was Chris and he continued the great Karma that seemed to connect with everyone I met this morning. I forgot locks for myPelican case and without hesitation he offered to zip tie them for me when he was done making his inspection. Off to the security line where another TSA agent  handled me and others with the utmost respect and friendly demeanor. So many people dis these folks who due so much to keep us all safe. Sure I’ve run into a few that are less than professional and difficult to connect with. But for the most part I’ve always been treated very well.

That’s all for now. Travel can be stressful and it was such a pleasure to interact with so many great  people who through their positive energy  made the start of a new day so inspiring.

Mother brown bear plays with her cubs

Our Alaskan Brown Bear trip is fast approaching and I wanted to take a few minutes to post some information for those of you who plan to join us. For those of you reading this that may still have an interest we do have two spots open for the spring adventure. The dates are June 18-25. Give Tanya a call if you’re interested.

Summer brown bear photography in Alaska has a few special requirements. I’ll start with clothing then move on to photography equipment. First and foremost when in the Alaska wilderness you want to make sure you stay dry so I highly recommend bringing a good quality rain/waterproof jacket. Not necessarily a rubber coat but Gore-tex or equivalent is ideal. I’ll be wearing a Mountain Hardware breathable, outer shell. I’ll also have a fleece inner coat incase the temperature drops, as it can in the north. I’ll be wearing a capalene tshirt under a heavier outer shirt. The capalene is essential for keeping you dry next to the skin and makes a huge difference if you somehow get wet.

On the bottom half of my body I’ll be wearing a pair of Carhart pants. I won’t discuss the underwear. That’s up to you. You can figure that one out. Outer shell will be a pair of breathable, waterproof pants. I like the ones that have a zip all the way up the side. A full zipper makes it easy to get them on and off when the skies clear or you get back to the lodge. On my feet will be a pair of my favorite knee high boots made by Muck Boots.  They also have other brands such as LaCrosse which are every bit as good as the Muck Boot. I probably would have bought the LaCrosse had that style ben available at the time. I’ll be bringing a warm hat and baseball cap as well as light gloves. You should also bring a bug headnet. Typically the bugs aren’t bad when I’ve been shooting brown bears but you never know. Each year can be different than the last. That should cover it for clothing and outerwear. For all your gear a good place to shop is Cabela’s, REI is another favorite store or I’m sure you all have something local you might prefer. Cabela’s is hard to beat. They have everything for the outdoors.

Photographing brown bears.

As far as camera equipment goes, this is what I’ll be bringing. For certain I will have my 200-400 zoom,  70-200mm,  24-70mm, 105 macro, a 10-20mm and two Nikon D300s bodies. I may also bring my 600mm but that’ not for certain. Typically a 200-400 on a 1.5 factor D300 body is plenty of reach for the brown bears. If you have a 500mm or 600mm lens feel free to bring it along. A good tripod is essential. I use a Gitzo GT3541 carbon fiber. It’s light and packable and holds a 600mm just fine with a mid sized Kirk ball head. Gitzo is also making some very nice, redesigned ball heads that I haven’t tried but I’ve seen  them and I’m very impressed.  Make sure you bring a rain cover for your larger lenses. I don’t use anything fancy. My main rain cover is the leg of an old Gore-tex rain suit. I cut it down the middle, put Velcro on each side and called it good. It’s light, functional and was inexpensive since the gore-tex suit was a throw away after I ripped the seat out on a sharp rock.

To carry my gear I’ll be using a Lowepro Vertex 200. It’s a backpack and the easiest way to carry your equipment in the field. We won’t likely be carrying our pack long distances but you want to be able to get it on your back and carry it easily if needed. You can read more about my experience with Lowepro and why I think they have the best options in the business for camera backpacks by reading my earlier blog.

Other incidentals you might want to consider are filters such as a polarizer, a split neutral density and any others you might enjoy. They can certainly be helpful for landscapes. Don’t forget your lens cleaning cloth or paper, a hand blower for cleaning your sensor, I like to carry a chamois for drying wet cameras if they get caught in a mist and bring some bug spray. I haven’t had issues with bugs on my brown bears shoots but like I said earlier you need to have something just in case.

Thats’ it. It will be an amazing trip I can assure you. Especially for those who have never spent time on the ground with an animal the size of a brown bear. We’re able to do this safely because coastal brown bears are different animals than the grizzlies we know in the interior west. A big part of the safety factor is our group size, we use telephotos lenses and we respect the animals first and foremost  in all cases. It’s exhilarating and they are truly spectacular animals. It’s especially fun if we’re fortunate enough to see mothers with cubs. This is probably my most enjoyable shoot of all I do.