Camera Labs

nice encounter kpr, I am jealous , I think

so its the bear you cannot see that you have to watch.

_________________
Canon Powershot S95, Canon 7D, 15-85, Canon 85 1.8 USM, Sigma 30 1.4, 50mm 1.8, Canon 100 2.8L IS Macro, Canon 70-300L IS USM+Kenko 1.4 Pro 300DGX, Canon 430EX II and RS 4 Classic

_________________
Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-55mm,Pentax 50-200mm,Sigma 17-70mm,Sigma 70-300mm, Sigma 50-500mm

Here's a video of the same encounter.....
Now I don't claim to be a videographer ....manual focus,sunset on my back and the viewer....

http://vimeo.com/41679057

_________________
Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-55mm,Pentax 50-200mm,Sigma 17-70mm,Sigma 70-300mm, Sigma 50-500mm

Biggest bear yet this year.
At one point before it crossed the hedgerow to the field in the last two pics it was just 40ft from me.
I was videoing then otherwise I'm sure the shutter slap would have ended the session.
I only had a mono pod and the light was low plus it was overcast...

_________________
Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-55mm,Pentax 50-200mm,Sigma 17-70mm,Sigma 70-300mm, Sigma 50-500mm

This set of fields was a good spot for me this year so I concentrated on them.
They had lots of feed left in them and most times good light in the evening along with smaller bears that weren't overly educated meaning they were somewhat tolerant of someone standing in the wide open and they would feed right over towards you until they got wind of you.







This was a kind of interesting encounter.
Always good to have a bear paying attention to something else in a different direction
I spotted these from about 1/2 km away,it was a rough trek for me to get to where i wanted to be but...I made it.
I post my pics on a local forum as well and i don't like to expose locations,having the farmhouse and other mountain in these pics made that difficult but if I could just get down in the gully and have just the sky it could work...

Mom and cubs just feeding


I spot the farmer checking on his cattle and leaving....


Cub spots farmer...


Cub tells momma about the farmer....


Momma takes a better look and says "Don't worry,keep eating"...


"I dunno mom,I thought I heard something behind us too"


Maybe not,I'll just keep eating....


At this point momma had made her way across the field and was just about to graze her way out into the morning light...perfect!!
Or so I thought,nervous Nellie the cub had me busted and I didn't notice.
It's too bad the clover and the angle being below her didn't offer a good view of her on a full out run back to the trees.
To see one of these beauties in full flight in the wide open is definitely a sight to see let alone get in pictures!!





This was my biggest bear of the year out in the open.
I was ill prepared for this encounter on the way home from a BBQ at a friend's place in shorts and t-shirt.
The blackflies and mosquitoes were unbearable and it was near 30C
I believe the crop is Barley,first spotting it all I could see was the tip of it's ears so I made a a noise with a coyote call i carry in the jeep at all times and up it stood.
I stalked down the side of the field to get closer as the light was fading fast.
I had left the girlfriend in the jeep and was going to get her her to make the coyote call again and have the bear stand up when i was in position.
When I turned to motion her to make the call,she was about 10ft behind me,had been all the way up the field

_________________
Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-55mm,Pentax 50-200mm,Sigma 17-70mm,Sigma 70-300mm, Sigma 50-500mm

Another enjoying some Barley.
We had a good growing year here and with taller/thicker crops it made spotting and stalking a bit of a challenge.







Here's a few from my trail camera set at one of my hunting sites.
No bears were harmed in the taking of these pics....
For some reason this year I had all night time activity,possibly the warm temperatures?
Over a month of keeping the site active and baited,that grey barrel when full weighs about 400lbs
They have to roll it around to get food out of it,inside is corn,oats,horse/cattle feed.
The trail cam is a Sony point/shoot camera inside a Pelican type case with a motion sensor hacked into it and locked to a tree.

_________________
Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-55mm,Pentax 50-200mm,Sigma 17-70mm,Sigma 70-300mm, Sigma 50-500mm

awesome kpr... I know you told me before but what are they rooting for in those fields?
love the story of the mom and cubs and the farmer... can just visualise that encounter as it happened
every time I see pics of a bear in high grass ( crops) I always think of a shot I have yet to get and which I have been after for some years now... that of a grizzly walking through high grass with just his head and shoulder hump showing.. some year maybe...
its always commical when they get up on their hinds to look at things. Its another thing I hope to catch some day in a pic.

supposedly we are to get some sun tomorrow.. if so hopefully I can get out and see if I can find some deer. the sun has been a rare siting in november and so far it has been the same in december... we already have 2 times as much snow as we did all of last year....

_________________
Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Pelican // Black Rapid // Think Tank // Manfrotto // Garmin

Reflections On Canadian Wildlife
My Flickr

They are old corn fields from the year before,harvested but still smashed cobs laying about the rows.
If you look in some of the later/lower pics there are thick grass like plants starting to shoot up,they did in fact pull a few of these and eat a small onion looking bulb type thing that was just under the surface but I only saw that once or twice.

If you want them to stand try the "Rabbit in distress" coyote call while still a distance away.
You can pick one up for about $5 and it's not much bigger than a Bic lighter.
Seems like all critters will perk and pay attention when it is used,coyotes,deer...bear,just remember you are mimicking a meal for two of those and it might bring them twds you on a dead run ...save ya a long stalk maybe

Sun?...What's that?
Off shift Monday noon,not much happening here on the island pic wise although I did hear today a Snowy Owl is here, unfortunately hiking to find it is required and I can't as we are on half hour standby and our pagers/phone coverage is spotty at best on that end of the island.
I "might" have a look Monday afternoon if the sun is cooperative...

_________________
Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-55mm,Pentax 50-200mm,Sigma 17-70mm,Sigma 70-300mm, Sigma 50-500mm

Loved your stories and your shots, great job!

_________________
Gear: Canon SX20 IS, Canon Rebel T3i, Canon EF-S 18-55mm
Wishlist: Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II
Visit me and leave me a comment in My Flickr