Years ago I made a trip to southern British Columbia in search of snowy owls. I’ve already posted a lot of the flight shots from that trip. Here’s a simple portrait of one of the owls perched on a post at the end of the day. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 500, f/5 at 1/1000th of a second.
When polar bears are waiting for the ice to freeze over so they can go out and hunt, they get bored. And when they get bored, they fight, play, dance, whatever it takes to pass the time until it’s time to eat. Photographed at Seal River in upper Manitoba, Canada. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 220mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/500th of a second.
A polar bear walks along the shoreline of the Hudson Bay, waiting for the water to freeze so that he can go out and hunt seals. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.
The Barrow’s goldeneye is a sea duck that lives mostly in the Pacific Northwest, but can also be found in a few other pockets of the world. They were one of the species hit hard by the Exxon Valdez oil spill back in 1989. I photographed this male near Vancouver, Canada. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second.
A pair of American toads doing their best to make more American toads. I photographed this one on a commercial shoot up in Toronto a while back. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/32 at 1/30th of a second.
I went to Boundary Bay in British Columbia to photograph snowy owls a few years back. I also saw a few bald eagles. This one was coming in for a landing atop a leafless tree. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 310mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1250th of a second.
Days are short come November in northern Manitoba. But when the sun gets low on the horizon it can cast a magical glow across the frozen landscape. When a polar bear just so happens to be walking past, things get even better. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 82mm) ISO 800, f/8 at 1/1600th of a second.
These two polar bears were passing the time waiting for the Hudson Bay to freeze over so they could go hunt for seals. This was nothing more than a playful challenge — who can open his mouth the widest. Or maybe they were just checking each other’s breath? Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/200th of a second.
This polar bear ended up passing very close to where we were all standing. This particular frame was captured when he was still at a manageable distance (for my lens and myself). You can see that massive left front paw. Photographed in upper Manitoba, Canada at Seal River on the Hudson Bay. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/500th of a second.
Can never have too many dancing bear posts. This time polar bears wasting time while they wait for the Hudson Bay to freeze over so they can go hunt seals. Photographed at Seal River in Manitoba, Canada. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 330mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/640th of a second.