“In part because bears can be so dangerous, they force you to pay attention. The awe of being in their presence strips away the chaos of thoughts and distractions that normally dominate your consciousness. They focus your attention on the moment. They flood your blood with adrenaline and endorphins…. They introduce you to terror, awe, amazement and ecstasy. They connect you to the deepest pulses of life. This is their gift. The power to take your life, or to renew it; to re-create who you are, if only for a moment, and perhaps for a lifetime.” - Dr. Stephen F. Stringham
Spring Grizzly
Hibernation is one of the most remarkable adaptations in nature. Imagine the effects on your body if you were confined to a bed for 5 months, and then imagine you did it without food. That's what this bear just did. Grizzlies are able to rely entirely on fat reserves during this time, and don't deplete any of their muscle mass.
Where the Wild Things Were
“All I can personally but crudely attest is that there is something fundamentally different about a land roamed by big meat-eating beasts, a sense that becomes forcefully apparent in a solitary walk through their realm. And I can only believe, from somewhere deeper than any logic center of the brain, that a life of incomprehensible loneliness awaits a world where the wild things were, but are never to be again.” William Stolzenburg - Where the Wild Things Were
American Legend
From the Native Americans and early frontier explorers to current day outdoor enthusiasts, perhaps no stories are told with more enthusiasm and pride than those of encounters with the grizzly. This is the emblematic face of the American wilderness. I am so thankful to live in one of the few places this creature still calls home.
"There is much about the grizzly and his characteristics which highly recommends him to our historic lore. He is American to the backbone and as noble, roughhewn, and fearsome as the emblematic lion of England, the winged bull of Assyria, dragon of China, sphinx of Egypt, or any other fabulous animalistic demigods of history...The bravest, toughest and most distinguished [frontier adventurers] have spoken with the greatest pride about their encounters with the grizzly-Lewis and Clark, Zebulon Pike, Kit Carson, Stonewall Jackson, General Custer, Theodore Roosevelt, and many more. Not one has held him lightly." - excerpt from The Beast that Walks Like a Man
"Grizzly Shadows" - Turning Harsh Light Into a Beautiful Photograph
After the initial excitement of finding this grizzly in the Tetons I was confronted with the difficulty of creating an image with the contrasting light. All of the scenes seemed to contain either dark shadows or harsh light, neither of which are pleasing to the eye on their own. There was one possibility…but it would take a bit of luck. I would need a scene where the light illuminated only the bears face, while leaving the majority of the scene in shadows. If this came together, then I could underexpose the image by 3 full stops in order to reduce the chaos in the backdrop by turning it black. I would also need to position myself as low as possible to create the shallowest depth of field possible, which blurs the background. These two elements combined (the darkness and blur) allowed me to a create an image that was pleasing to the eye in conditions that otherwise were not.