Photography is a waiting game. A physically demanding waiting game too. Standing in one place, essentially sitting on a scene, waiting for magic light, or waiting for an animal to appear, makes your body stiffen up and leaves plenty of room for your mind to create doubt.
In the Great Bear Rainforest, on the coast of British Columbia, I stood at the edge of a river in the freezing cold and began to wonder. Maybe I don’t deserve to see the spirit bear?
I travelled to this remote wilderness destination in the hopes of seeing and photographing the elusive Kermode Bear. Also known as “Spirit Bear” it is a black bear with a recessive gene that causes its fur to be white. It is extremely rare. And it only happens in this particular place.
My body hurt. It was a tough climb for me to get to the spot. With two bear guides and a handful of fellow photographers, we made our way upstream climbing over roots and logs beside the river. It wasn’t a long hike, but some of the “root scrambling” was straight up 6 feet with small footholds. That part might have been easier than the waiting.
Maybe I’m not cut out for this.
On the third day of waiting, I groaned while changing from a sitting to standing position and said to the photographer next to me, “I think I’m too much of a weakling for this.”
He looked at me with a slightly astonished look on his face and said “I just saw you,” (and I thought uh oh), “… stand in a freezing cold river for 20 hours – that is not a weakling!”
I’m not sure if it was stamina or stubbornness, but I waited, hoping my patience would pay off.
Finally, after standing there for 20 hours over 3 days, a black bear came out of the woods on the opposite side of the river. As instructed, we all stayed put – no sudden movements. He came directly towards us and the most incredible thing happened.
He looked at me. Directly at me.
He looked at every single one of us in turn, appearing to judge us each individually as to whether we were a threat or not. When he got to the end of the line of photographers, he decided.
Not.
Let the fishing begin!
On the fourth and final day, the black bear was at the same fishing hole when we arrived in the morning. We were visited by a couple of different black bears that day.
I love how they like to find a small rock or log that allows them to get all their feet out of the water, they watch and wait for a fish, and then pounce.
One of the bears had a little route he went on over and over again. From the river he would walk behind a large boulder, get up on the boulder, get down off the boulder, walk up a log, across the stream and back to the starting place. On this route, I saw him catch 5 fish!
He had done the route so many times it was unexpected when he broke the pattern and started walking directly towards me. I was sitting on a large rock at the time and instinctively felt that standing, in order to back away, would be too much movement. I quickly looked at the guide to see if I was going to get instructions to move, but he said to stay while moving closer to me.
The bear walked right past me no more than 15 feet away. He was too close for me to photograph so I just watched in awe and soaked up the experience. I wasn’t scared at all. We had already established that we were not a threat to each other. He didn’t even look at me.
As the end of the day drew near, I began to accept it.
No spirit bear. I didn’t get the shots I came for.
Was it because I’m not cut out to be a wildlife photographer? No. Was it because I didn’t deserve it? No. It was just that it didn’t happen.
I did a lot of planning and preparation before embarking on the trip. I had all the essential rain gear, new rain boots, I rented the camera equipment I needed, I had a shot list – I was prepared. But once I am on a trip, whatever will be, will be. I try to remember that. All I can do is make the best of whatever mother nature has in store for me. And try my best to keep my brain in check.
I was in one of the most beautiful and serene places I have ever been. I worked hard to get there. Spirit bear or no spirit bear, I am so lucky to have had this experience.
Returning to the lodge on the evening of the last day, Marvin, our host summed it up perfectly. “Black bears matter too.”
A note on the gear
I took the same gear on this trip as I took to Khutzeymateen the year before. Two Canon 7D MkII’s, a 24-105 f/4L, and 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L. That was a mistake. It is super dark in the rainforest. If I ever get a chance to go again I will take faster f/2.8 lenses.
On this trip I was using outrageously high ISO’s and dangerously low shutter speeds. Fortunately the black bears didn’t move very fast and I was able to wait for those moments when the bear paused to take my shots.
Of course exposing for a black bear in a low light situation was much more difficult than a white bear would have been. I should have been prepared for both subjects. Lesson learned!
Wow, fantastic pictures! I find it difficult to get the detail you did from the black bear fur. Beautiful.
Thank you Gord. That’s where exposing for the subject makes such a big difference. If the exposure is too dark, you wont get any detail in the shadow areas. You could try changing to spot metering to make sure you get a good exposure for the subject. That may cause the highlights in the background to be blown out (if there are any bright spots) but in my opinion that is better than the subject not having detail. Thanks for your comments 🙂
Wonderful images, Anne – among the best bear photos I’ve ever seen (and I have seen a lot of them!).
Thank you for the very kind comment Laurie! I wonder if you ever get black bears on Gabriola?
Beautiful shots Anne, I can imagine how stiff and uncomfortable you may of been, its like when I do bird photography, once you set yourself up in the spot you wont, its wait and any movement you do must be slow, I know the bird or animals know we are there, but like you said if you are not a threat its usually no problem. So exciting, I love your life style, and good on you for making the big change, look at how you are living, the things you see and experience, you are living.
I have just finished getting a camper-van set up for living off the grid and going to be getting out more into the outback, along rivers where there are birds and animals. I live in Australia, originally from NZ.
Have a wonderful Xmas. Cheers Judy
Hi Judy, I do feel like I am truly living now that I can follow my passion, spend my days looking for beautiful things to photograph, and travel. The RV lifestyle is wonderful. It is a “need less” lifestyle though. We don’t have many possessions. I have heard from many RVers in Australia and it sounds like it is also an ideal place for this lifestyle. Congratulations on your new van setup. I’m sure you are going to love the freedom you have to travel off grid. Thank you very much for your visit and comments. Merry Christmas!
The pictures are so amazing. I definitely wouldn’t have that much patience. Beautiful pictures!!
Hi Pete, I guess it’s like anything, if you try it and get rewarded it’s easier to have more patience next time in the hopes of getting the pay off. I think this trip was the longest I have ever waited for an animal to show up! Thanks for your comments.
Another set of great photos Anne, puts my grizzly bear experience in the shade. What a great experience but one bringing truth to the saying ‘there’s no gain without pain’. Hope your knees stood up to it, you’ve certainly challenged them. Trust your journey to the sun has been successfully accomplished in spite of all the fires.
Have a good Christmas.
Hi Donald, Great to hear from you. I taped up my knees for this trip just to be on the safe side! It was a challenge, the hike was a lot harder than I was expecting. We are down in Arizona now and yes the sun is great!! We slowed down when we were going through Oregon because of the fires in California. We even had smoke in Oregon! Your comments are appreciated, as always 🙂
Thanks for sharing these beautiful images and your experience, though it was tough at first but patience always win then magic happens. this is definitely one of those extraordinary moments and a great accomplishment.
Have a blessed Christmas break and relax, you so deserve it.
Many thanks Angelito, I appreciate that. It certainly was an extraordinary experience being that close to the black bear and being able to watch it without either of us feeling unsafe. It’s an incredible feeling when wild animals allow your presence. Truly a gift! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas too 🙂
I have been following your photography for a while now and I appreciate your insight on how you achieved this photo. As a newbie to photography it’s helpful to know what actually goes into making a good photograph.
My husband and I are full time RV’ers too and maybe one day we can met up. Thank you and I love your work! I feel like I’m at the spot you took the photograph and it feel real.
Thank you so much Jennifer, it means a lot that my photos resonate with you and make you feel like you are there. That is my goal. I appreciate your visit and comments 🙂 Maybe our RV paths will cross one day!
You capture the most incredible pictures i felt as tho I was there with you. You touch life’s with your photography and thank you for touching mine. Merry Christmas you two
Hi Lola! Thank you for your wonderful comments. It makes me feel so good to know that my photos can convey emotion and touch another person’s life. I really appreciate that. I hope you both have a very Merry Christmas and hope we’ll see you again in the spring on our way back north. It should be warm enough for margaritas by then 🙂
Wow…what a trip and your photos are spectacular as usual Anne!
Much appreciated Steve!
Love, LoVe, LOVE your photos, Anne!
You have such an exquisite eye and editing touch! (Ray’s pics are pretty impressive, I might add!)
My hubby, Brian, and I have been regular “Love Your RV” consumers since deciding to pursue full-time RV life. (Departure goal of early summer!) LYRV has been such a great source of information and inspiration for us as noobs. So I just wanted to take a moment to thank you both for your truly helpful channel … and to laud your beautiful photography, Anne.
Brian and I hope to have the privilege of meeting you guys someday.
Yay!
Sandi
Hi Sandi,
Thank you so much for your wonderful comment! And welcome to the RV life 🙂 I absolutely love living on the road and being able to travel to all the beautiful places while at the same pursuing my passion. I’m sure you and Brian will love it too. We never run out of places to see.
It means a lot to Ray and I that you follow both of our sites – thank you for that. Maybe our paths will cross one day!
Anne, your writings are so straight from the heart and so without pretense that I almost feel you are a friend although I’ve never met you. I have to admit to a large degree of distress though when I compare my photography to yours.
Good luck with your aches and pains. They can get to you both physically and emotionally. You have an internal strength that will see you through. Keep on keeping on!
Hi Gary, Thank you so much for your comments about my writing. I find the writing of the posts a lot harder than the photography, so I really appreciate your feedback. I understand what you mean about comparing photos, I honestly think we all do that. It doesn’t matter where you are at with your photography, we all still do that! Just remember that the experience itself it a lot more important than the photos 🙂
Hi Anne,
Great bear photos! Wonderful trip descriptjon. Nice explanation and demonstration of the old dodge and burn method. Lightroom dodge and burn video was very helpful and informative. Hope you find the cause for the pain so you can get back to a normal life. Enjoy the coming spring with Ray and have safe travels. JT
Hi JT, Thank you! I’m very glad to hear you enjoyed the post and the dodge and burn video as well. Your comments are much appreciated 🙂
Loved the article and the shots
Thank you so much Lee, I appreciate it.
I found the beautiful images tonight. I especially enjoyed the dolphins. Thank you for your commitment and sharing. Your work is definitely inspirational
Thank you so much Mary!
The bear photos were great! The bear head shot was fantastic. How far were you from the bear and what lens and settings did you use? Thanks for sharing the photos and for the great writing. JT
Thanks JT! The bear wasn’t as close as it looks! I used the Canon 100-400mm L lens at 400mm, ISO8000, f/5.6, 1/160 sec.