Curiosity killed the photographer?, a photo from Manitoba, Prairies

Photographer's Note

This is a wild Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) expressing its natural curiousity. It probably helps that by this time of year they've been fasting for nearly six months, so even a tough, stringy photographer starts to look good ;-)

It's also one of favourite shots from Canada. I can't work out whether the owner of the camcorder is too frightened to move, or whether they're just caught up in the moment!

The best way to get out and see the bears is on a Tundra Buggy - imagine a school bus, crossed with a monster truck - that's a Tundra Buggy. They have big massive tyres, underinflated, so that they make a minimal impact on the permafrost. The buggy in this shot is called Deuce, and is intended for photographers because it's smaller than the others - I was on one of the other larger buggies when I took this shot.

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Main changes, selectively altered interior brightness to make the protagonists clearer. Increased image size to give more detail.

atrochez, bodinux, Catli, IanSewell, elena, fiedziu, gelor, rachelonthego, SampraS, lotis, mbaqir, VinceM, benkrut, MLINES, zeca, postvikram, scotthosner, markogts, anilyn has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ornis (1271) 2003-09-16 17:39

I liked the first one, but this one is perfect. It was worth doing some work on it, because, now, you clearly participate to the action. Very good postwork to get such a natural shot. Had an idea of his pulse rate? ;-)

xhoss (88) 2003-09-16 22:22

very interesting shot, thanks for sharing. Good POV, and DOF. nice timing :)

kourosh (2346) 2003-09-16 23:07

This is a superb shot Adrian but curiosity killed the critiquer to try a workshop again :-) (just because i love this shot!) i tried to remove the grainy spots on the windscreen.
btw your notes are very useful.

[workshop] [compare]

dsidwell (9783) 2003-10-16 12:25

This is much clearer than the original. Had you more zoom to your lens, it would have been nice to have gotten even closer.

touristdidi (8583) 2003-10-24 7:09

Fantastic, I hear they hunt humans! So what happened?

zto (268) 2003-12-02 14:01

"I'd like to have one samon sandwich and a slush puppy to go please." Funny picture but i would not like to be that guy in the car. It's a good improvment from the origional, which also was good. But this close crop takes the viewer closer in to the center of the action.

Great photo.

numahr (350) 2003-12-03 13:26

Very nice scene! What an encounter... the dialogue between the two subjects is fascinating. Also the you framed well the monster vehicle which is a secondary interest of the pic...

[2]

steeve (1497) 2003-12-19 13:12

Very impressive shot and good timing. Good job.

philip_coggan (11) 2003-12-27 18:38

I think we perhaps have an unfortunate tendancy to regard certain animals as inherently cute. Winnie the Pooh and all our childhood soft toys are to blame for the special status bears enjoy. In fact, as you so rightly say, this is one large, hungry animal, and I wouldn't like to be on his meu! Great photo.

IanSewell (579) 2004-12-02 14:18

Perfect timing, great shot. Too bad you don't know who the poor photographer is - I'm sure he'd love to see this photo!

elena (1054) 2005-03-06 17:01

amazing shot! i find it soo incredible that you could go so close to a polar bear in his natural habitat!! i was in hammerfest, north of norway, and only got to see reindeers, no polar bears! anyway, i like the tight crop in this composition, and i would like that guy to post one of his shots!! looks like he got only the bear's nose... i also like the fact that the vehicle is white, and it helps your photo, because it blends with the snow and it calls attention to the man and the bear. the lower part of the vehicle is very interesting, i'm glad you left it.

fiedziu (1764) 2005-09-11 7:33

wow, funny picture
the bear is so nice :o)
fine work
regards

gelor (3233) 2005-11-20 10:43

Bonjour Adrian,
Tout à fait surprenant ! On note la témérité du chauffeur pour filmer à quelques centimètres de cet énorme animal. Une vue intéressante. Merci pour le partage. Gérard

SampraS (619) 2006-02-10 8:51

that is good effort!
quite scary I must say
I like it.
cheers
Adam

mbaqir (441) 2006-04-26 4:27

Hi Adrian
You captured a great moment. Like the white tone of the jeep hormonising snow's tone. TFS

leiju (1697) 2006-07-01 18:19

What an exquisite shot!
You can just imagine the bear sort of pleading 'pretty please, come a little closer, just a little bit, let me just have a tiny taste of you' ;D
Sincerey brilliant colors (considering the whiteness of it all), and a wonderful composition that really captures everything in it: that little fraction of a moment, the place and the circumstances. The picture says it all :D simply perfect!
It even shows the tyres you mention in your note, so it sent me back to the picture trying to figure out whether they looked underinflated or not... we can't quite see, but we can guess ;D
Wonderful picture! Ok, I'll stop repeating myself now...
Thanks for sharing such a tasty shot! ;)
Kind regards,
Julia

vhemmati (616) 2006-08-17 0:24

Hi,

Amazing place to take pictures, I like the natural B&W tone of the picture.

TFS

-Varahram

Polonaise (5802) 2006-09-03 8:42

Incredible shot, Adrian.
I wish to be there, in your place.
Final version seems to be a better presentation of the theme.
The colors spell coldness of the scene.
great stuff.
g.

zeca (19762) 2006-09-15 11:33

Excellent shot, Adrian. They caught the bear and you caught the action! Purely TE! Well done framing! And good exposition to see the bear's face. I would like to see it one day...
Cheers!
Zeca

postvikram (1199) 2006-10-11 16:23

Greetings Adrian,
Graet action shot. the whits in the picture are so nice to look at.
Good work with the framing and the POV too. Nice shot indeed - TFS - Vikram

bhorerpakhi (559) 2007-01-03 7:42

Verey funny and humorous shot. My favorite too.
Poulomi

teutza (10590) 2007-05-08 14:35

wow....i'd surely want to see that picture..if he did it...:))i hope he's ok ,afterall it's not such a pleasant feeling to stand so close to a free hngry bear:D
great catch!
teo

kandaras (264) 2007-09-27 15:34

I congratulate the health to hand

anilyn (87) 2007-10-03 9:10

Hi Adrian,

Very nice shot. The blurred background helps to focus on the bear and the truck.
I almost expected a "to be continued" sign at the bottom of the picture ;)

Furachan (0) 2007-10-09 18:33

Hi Adrian:
Delighted scene here (sorry to come on to it so late), funny, excellently framed and... a punch in the jaw. Great title to go with. Very nice work,
bw,
Francis

fryz (1735) 2007-11-12 6:22

excellent moment de frisson
see you soon Adrian
Vincent

Faros (12) 2007-11-12 7:00

That's incredible !!
TFS,

Phil.

edgarjediza (598) 2008-12-31 3:34

Fantastic capture, lucky shot, I consider this a one-in-a-million shot! Quite dangerous situation...

Adrique (609) 2008-12-31 3:50

Hi Adrian, what a great shot this is! The composition and POV is very good. I also like the high quality of the image. The scan is perfect, I don´t get see such hi-res scan too often. The PP greatly enhances exposition of the dark areas.
Btw, the cameraman seems to be quite calm, like he was sure the bear can´t get too far through that small window.
TFS
Best regards,
Adrian