The bear necessities

Paul Ray could only take one lens on a dream trip to photograph rare spirit bears in British Columbia, so he needed to make it count

MISSION: Learn about wildlife conservation while observing and photographing animals in their natural environment PHOTOGRAPHER: Paul Ray

LOCATION: Kendal, Cumbria

KIT USED: Nikon D4S, Nikon D5, Nikon AF-S 400mm f/2.8e FL ED VR

WEBSITE: www.wildworldimages.co.uk INSTAGRAM: @wildworldimages

I have always enjoyed viewing wildlife, but only recently have I been able to dedicate the time and effort needed to research photography subjects. My interest in photographing wild animals really started to develop back in 2015. I embarked on a trip to Finland to see bears, wolves, eagles and wolverines, and I wanted to have some memories to look back on. Photography seemed like the perfect way to record my trip.

Bears and eagles have always been my passion. In September 2016 a cancellation afforded me the opportunity to take a trip to the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia, Canada. This was way before my skills were ready, but I had nearly a year to prepare and study the work of other photographers and the endless potential choices of equipment.

My kitbag was restricted to airline weight constraints, meaning I could only take one lens… I opted for the Nikon AF-S 400mm f/2.8e FL ED VR as I would be working in low light and photographing large animals from a safe distance. It paired very well with all of my Nikon teleconverters when I needed to extend its reach, not to mention its weather sealing, sharpness and luscious bokeh.

Bear with me here

When I finally got to the Great Bear Rainforest I was very lucky to see a female spirit bear [1] . Constantly changing light was the main challenge (along with frequent rain), so I selected an aperture of f/2.8 to allow maximum light into the camera. With a fixed focal length you have to accept that you will miss some shots, but this teaches you to be more creative and aware of what’s happening around you. As the bear moved

You will miss some shots, but this teaches you to be more creative and aware of what’s happening around you

towards me, my only option was to capture a close-up portrait. I took the opportunity to frame part of her paw and the remains of a recent catch.

Grin and bear it

The next image is of the same bear [2], but much further away. An f/5.6 aperture was selected to capture more of the scene in focus – I particularly like the water dripping off her paws as she moved. Constantly changing light was the main challenge. In hindsight, I could have pushed the ISO a lot higher on the Nikon D4S to get a faster shutter speed, but image quality took priority. For slow-moving animals, Singlepoint focus is preferred (I only switch to Dynamic-area AF if the subject speeds up).

Much closer to home, I’ve spent a lot of time photographing birds of prey. Red kites are plentiful in Scotland and I often photograph them in preparation for trips to the Isle of Mull, where my subjects are white-tailed eagles. For this image [3]

I used Auto ISO to give me the fastest shutter speed available within the ISO limitations set. I used the 400mm f/2.8e again. It’s light enough to handhold, which is crucial as most of my photos are taken from boats, where tripods are not an option.

The next couple of images are from the Isle of Mull. After the initial excitement of capturing white-tailed eagles as they fished, I decided to try something different. Image [4] captures the moment just before the eagle took a fish, and displays its power and concentration as the talons extend. I used the lens’s Sport VR mode as I was panning handheld on a moving boat.

The final image [5] hopefully displays the eagles’ awesome wingspan of up to 8ft. The focus point was set on the fish, where you can still view the seawater in its mouth. The 400mm f/2.8e performs way beyond my skill level and never ceases to amaze me.

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[1] Travelling with a single lens meant Paul needed to make the best of every situation, altering his framing accordingly.

[2] Paul uses Single-point focus when photographing slow-moving animals and switches to Dynamicarea AF if the action speeds up.

[3] Paul practises photographing red kites near his home in preparation for trips further afield.

[4] Paul made good use of the 400mm f/2.8e’s SPORT VR mode, when capturing this shot from a boat.

[5] Paul chose to focus on the fish in the eagle’s talons and captured crisp droplets of water flying from its mouth.