Submerged Grizzly bear
by Mark ~ October 9th, 2009. Filed under: Destinations, Photo Tips, favorite moments, field techniques, inspiration, nature photography, wildlife.Before my trip to Alaska, I made a post about some photos I had hoped to obtain. They weren’t really based upon anything other than my imagination running wild. I had never been there before, so they weren’t based on much education about the place either, what opportunities I could expect, environments, etc. For some images it ran a bit wilder than others. When you are actually there, you begin to match up your imagination vs. reality. It certainly looked like my dual-submerged-bear-one-with-a-fish shot was going to be quite a challenge. :)
Grizzly Bear
In a place like Katmai, I think it helps to have some specific ideas in the back of your mind because it can be just so overwhelming at times. You are just shooting everywhere when there is a lot of action. For the most part, you are reacting to the situations that the bears offer to you. You don’t have much control over the situation other than being in the right spot at the right time, and perhaps having something in your mind you wish to accomplish.
Watching their different behaviors was a complete blast, particularly in how they go about fishing. Some would jump and plunge on top of salmon. I wondered how this 1,500 lb animal could jump on top of something that is perhaps 5 lbs and not bring up a salmon mush pie. And if they wandered close, certainly your brain begins to contemplate a Mark-mush-pie possibility as well. Some of them where quite skilled at swatting with those big claws, and others submarined under the river surface and came up with a fish. There were even some lazy ones who would just mooch off of others. Each with their own preference , technique and skill.
Well, it is probably obvious that this particular bear did some submarining. I was lucky to get this shot with my macro lens. Ha – just kidding folks – if I only had a web cam on this site to capture your expression after reading that sentence. It was shot with my D700, 200-400 zoom and my 1.4 teleconverter on – 550 mm total. But the shot is full frame, no cropping. It was also an instance of being luckily in the right spot. Moving around a lot to “get in position” is not a good idea. It spooks the bears, making them more nervous, interrupting their normal behavior. So you pick a spot, sit, be patient and wait. You quickly learned if you were not in the right spot for a certain situation, sooner or later your time would come.
So the reality of my imaginary shot is probably this: In order to have two bears this close in the water, it probably would have to be a mother and a cub. It didn’t seem likely that two adults would be feeding that close to each other without one getting wacked with a salmon across the face or worse. In order to have the bears submerged like I drew them – the water would have to be so deep for the adult that the cub would need to be standing on a rock, drop off ledge, or something similar. Although my imagination told me it was a pretty far fetched concept, logic should have told me – “yeah right.” Nonetheless, I did come back with a few drippy water, submerged shots I am happy with. Sometimes you just have to settle. 
See more bear photos in my gallery.
October 9th, 2009 at
Mark, if this photo is settling then I’m ready to close the deal! What a wonderful look on the bears face.
When I read the bit about the macro lens I figured either it was typo or the next shot in the series would be even a lot closer–like inside his widely openned jaws.
You got some great photos from this trip!
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Mark Reply:
October 10th, 2009 at
Rest assured Earl – I didn’t even bring my macro lens on this trip.
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October 9th, 2009 at
Hey Mark,
Great photo.
The idea you drew up is perfectly reasonable, imo – particularly with, say, a couple of younger bears – it’s not uncommon for siblings to hang together after their mum kicks them outta home – and so you will frequently see bears of 3-5 years old fishing together. Another possibility, for example, could be the mooching bear situation you described. I watched one bear who knew which of the other adult males he could approach and sit beside and, if patient and lucky enough, they’d leave him some scraps. I’ll look through my files and see if I kept something like you drew … I know I saw that same scenario (though maybe they were in water shallow enough to sit) plenty of times.
On another note, it’s pretty cool how, as you say, a bear that big doesn’t simply destroy a salmon – but I’ve seen salmon get whacked, and then grabbed by those awesome grizzly jaws, and still squirm and flap, and even make a run for escape if given a chance. Tough critters, them salmon.
More bears!
Cheers
Carl
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Mark Reply:
October 10th, 2009 at
Carl – OK – you make it sound plausible – now cough up the evidence!
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October 9th, 2009 at
[...] Graf today related his own recent experience of photographic imagination vs. reality during his recent adventures in [...]
October 10th, 2009 at
Settle? hahaha! I’d settle for this any day. Heck I’d settle for just watching the bears let alone getting a good shot of them!
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October 10th, 2009 at
Oh I love it! Hilarious and fascinating too about the bear’s individual fishing styles. For a “settle” shot this is certianly fantastic.
Hooray for bears!
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October 10th, 2009 at
Thank you Roberta and Amber. I was only kidding about “settling” – I was still quite happy just to have this one.
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October 11th, 2009 at
Watching you watching him! I love it. Kinda reminds me of the seals along the California Coast – just hanging out watching us watching them. Or so it seems.
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October 11th, 2009 at
I have been pretty busy lately and had wondered how your trip went, looking at this image and some of the others it looks like you had a great time.
I am hoping someday to get to some wonderful locale just once in my life, your images definitely make me hungry as hell for such a journey..
Thanks for sharing Mark !!
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October 11th, 2009 at
Wonderful face shot. Looking forward to more bears…
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October 12th, 2009 at
Heck…I could certainly “settle” for a shot like that! Kudos!
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October 12th, 2009 at
Nice shot you have there! I’m actually a fan of your photos.. Looking forward to more fascinating shots!
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October 12th, 2009 at
Your marvelous story provided plenty of chuckles and the photo is outstanding. I am a big believer that “imagining” some possibilities is a useful technique. Certainly we can’t control what happens, but those pictures in our mind’s eye open our minds to seeing what does transpire.
Does this bear’s face register the reaction to not getting a salmon on the most recent dive? These close-up portraits you got are so special because of the personality your captured in each animal. They are miles beyond the usual photos of wild animals.
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October 12th, 2009 at
Thanks folks!
@Anita – actually this bear just got done doing a round of submarining and blowing bubbles at the surface of the water.
See this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_ZtX8lnYG8&feature=player_embedded
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October 13th, 2009 at
wow, great shot Mark, I wouldnt call it settling
Sounds a v interesting trip out 
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October 14th, 2009 at
Thank you for posting the link to the delightful video!
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Mark Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at
Wasn’t that cool? I saw them doing this, but was never in a position to get an image of it…. and it certainly wouldn’t capture the behavior as well in a still image anyways. Glad someone else did.
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