The tide was low in Alaska, and the bears were loving running and playing in the shallow waters. I was teaching a workshop out at Lake Clark National Park and our group had walked out in our rain boots into the chilly terrain, ankle-deep in water.
An important rule to remember in situations like this: Stay together. We had to stay as a group and stay close to our bear expert, for our own safety, as well as the safety of the bears. Brown bears are much stronger than humans, and can run at speeds up to 30 miles per hour. However, they usually avoid us and rarely attack, unless threatened. Having been charged once before, I strongly believe in having an expert with me at all times, and in this moment, I made sure I was close to my group and close to Mark, our guide.
The photo:
We positioned ourselves with the sun over our shoulders, the bears perfectly lit in the distance — an optimal setup for photography. Within minutes, the bears ran in front of us and to the other side with the light now behind them.
“Sometimes all we need is that split second of something different to grab an exciting moment in nature, which is why I never put my camera down and embrace the unexpected.”
I love when the light gives us something different and something unexpected. I never want an image that looks like the first page in a Google search. So when the bears ran towards the light and out of their well-lit spot, I got really excited.
The lens:
I had my favorite lens on my Nikon Z7 — the Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E ED AF-S VR Zoom, along with the Nikon Mount Adapter FTZ. It’s a lightweight yet long lens that gives me a ton of versatility and takes tack sharp images even with the adapter. Plus, it’s easy to carry. The kit is so small, yet captures 45.7MB files and 4K video, without the need of anything else.
I quickly exposed for the background so that I could silhouette the bears. I selected a high shutter speed of 1/8000 of a second so I could stop the water drops and choose a low depth of field to add texture to the foreground and background while isolating my subjects. To brace myself, since I hardly ever use a tripod (I find that they slow me down), I rested my elbows on my knees. Squatting — while also keeping my bum out of the cold water — I was ready to capture. As they started to run off, I quickly switched to slow motion video and used that clip here:
A bear story from Kristi Odom on Vimeo.
They gave us a few seconds in that spot, and then were off again. When I saw the frame, I knew I got lucky, getting one bear completely in the air and capturing a shot that I hadn’t seen before.
Sometimes all we need is that split second of something different to grab an exciting moment in nature, which is why I never put my camera down and embrace the unexpected.
