judithconning

Tough Going

Feb, 2017

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Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

We'd been watching and photographing the cubs and their mother for a couple of hours, now the temperature was dropping and the cubs settling down

On a trip with a small group to Kaktovik, Alaska we spent most of the day following the antics of these beautiful cubs. They had been wrestling and th

Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada and the mother polar bears are emerging from their dens with their cubs. These little ones sleep, play and eat

Recently on a swimming with whales trip to Tonga and had 6 wonderful days with these beautiful creatures

In Kaktovik, Alaska this years cubs met up with last year's cubs and there was some pushing and shoving going on. This little one never gave up.

Kaktovik, Alaska and despite the blizzard conditions the cubs are busy. this little guy was never still and kept his mother on her toes (paws?).

Polar Bear mother and her young cubs recently emerged from the maternity den in Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada.

Out on the Amaroo, a local whale and dolphin watching cruise. A pod of 5 whales had been swimming near us and one just leapt into the air right in fro

The last few weeks have been very hot in Australia and each morning the beach is shrouded in mist. I added a texture to the image to give it a Turner

On a trip to Kaktovik, Alaska, 800 km north of the Arctic Circle is a tiny village and a reasonable population of polar bears. These cubs were having

The Humpbacks migrate along the east coast of Australia from the Antarctic heading towards the warm waters of Queensland to give birth to their calves

Out whale watching yesterday on a catamaran and the whales were a bit quiet until this one came along. I think he-she fell in love with the boat as we

Theres been some wild weather on out beaches in NSW these last few days!

Huge seas raged along Australia's eastern seaboard recently but this little Cormorant was not worried in the least and sat on it's rock whil

Mother bear and her two babies had been playing in the snow and mother had been digging, looking for something to eat. She sat down, almost on her cub

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken in Kaktovik, Alaska. We had 5 days of Blizard which made for unique photography. Mamma Bear was leading her two little ones along a peninsular to move away from any adult males and give them a feed. We were in a very small boat, braving the blizzard and I captured a series of photos. One did very well in Outdoor Photographer of the Year (UK), a portfolio of the sequence of their journey earned me Australian Wildlife Photographer of the Year some years ago. The photos actually featured on the Huffington Post and a variety of other newspapers around the world. Hope you don't mind me bragging but no-one has ever asked for the story behind these images. Thank you for doing so.

Time

This was taken at 3.30 in the afternoon but the whole day had been a raging blizzard and the light hardly changed.

Lighting

Lighting, what lighting?

Equipment

Captured with a Canon 5DII and 100-400mm lens at 360mm. Hand held.

Inspiration

All my polar bear images are inspired by my love for these magnificent creatures and my fear for the future. I felt that this little one struggling bravely against the blizzard epitomised everything about polar bears.

Editing

Mostly I raised the exposure and added clarity so the wind blown snow would be visible.

In my camera bag

Up until late last year it was the Canon 5DIII and the Canon 100-400 and the 24-70. Nowdays it's the Canon R6 and often the 70-200 f4. My back and shoulders have been wrecked by continuous use of the heavy 100-400, especially during hours of whale watching photography over the last 7 years.

Feedback

Never let the weather put you off. It's not always blubird weather which gives you the most interesting and intriguing images.

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judithconning

judithconning

Tough Going

Behind The Lens

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