Wat'Chee Expedition
A Mother Polar bear with her triplets. This place used to be a secret among wildlife photographers but not any more. I had to ask how the Chinese photographers heard about this place. The response is: word of mouth. And China is located on the other side of the planet. This particular trip is high risk because there is no guarantee that you will see bears. I had nine possible shooting days and got bear sightings for three days.(2 days bad weather and 4 days of nothing) I was very lucky. Remember: Wat'Chee provides you the opportunity to shoot the babies.
Most of my shots were done at ISO 200 but did have to go up 6,400 in order to keep my shutter speed up. Some of the early shots were done in the shade(blue light) and high ISO. I do not own a drop in warming filter for the 600mm so I had to tweak the color in Lightroom.
Wat'Chee is located about 40 miles south of Churchill, Manitoba. You have to take the VIA Rail and get off at Chesnaye which is a spot where the train stops. There is nothing there that would indicate it is an official train stop. From there, you ride in a modified vans and travel about 7 miles to the lodge.
March 9th- The mother was just teasing us by peeking out of the den or sticking her nose up in the air. 10th- bad weather. March 11th- the Mother was comfortable so she came out of the den and eventually her cubs. the 12th- bad weather. March 13th, Mother and cubs already left their den.
http://www.watchee.com
Of note: these bears of Hudson Bay are going to be the first to die off due to climate change which is shortening their feeding season. The Mother bears must have enough fat reserves to provide nourishment for the cubs and for herself while she goes without food for about eight months.
If you want to help these bears one way or another: Here is a link http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/about-us
Read MoreMost of my shots were done at ISO 200 but did have to go up 6,400 in order to keep my shutter speed up. Some of the early shots were done in the shade(blue light) and high ISO. I do not own a drop in warming filter for the 600mm so I had to tweak the color in Lightroom.
Wat'Chee is located about 40 miles south of Churchill, Manitoba. You have to take the VIA Rail and get off at Chesnaye which is a spot where the train stops. There is nothing there that would indicate it is an official train stop. From there, you ride in a modified vans and travel about 7 miles to the lodge.
March 9th- The mother was just teasing us by peeking out of the den or sticking her nose up in the air. 10th- bad weather. March 11th- the Mother was comfortable so she came out of the den and eventually her cubs. the 12th- bad weather. March 13th, Mother and cubs already left their den.
http://www.watchee.com
Of note: these bears of Hudson Bay are going to be the first to die off due to climate change which is shortening their feeding season. The Mother bears must have enough fat reserves to provide nourishment for the cubs and for herself while she goes without food for about eight months.
If you want to help these bears one way or another: Here is a link http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/about-us
