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Heat Relief


Heat Relief
Photo Information
Copyright: Scott Evers (scottevers7) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 2430 W: 3 N: 3882] (12267)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-07-23
Categories: Mammals
Camera: Canon 20D, Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS + EF 1.4X II, B+W UV MRC
Exposure: f/8, 1/60 seconds
Details: (Fill) Flash: Yes
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2006-08-05 23:38
Viewed: 1362
Points: 72
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Every time a take a trip to the St. Louis Zoo, I always take some pictures of the bears. I have only posted one previous bear shot. That was a sleeping polar bear, and that was way back when I first joined. The reason for this is the bears usually look very bored and unnatural. The St. Louis Zoo is a world class zoo and has large open natual looking exhibits for their animals. I believe they do everything possible to give their animals the best care and stimulation for a happy existence. They still generally look very bored, and I won't show them like that!

Well summers in St. Louis are not only hot, but also very humid. Very, very uncomfortable. Now put on a giant heavy fur coat, and you would do just about anything to try and keep cool. This Grizzly Bear has found a way to keep cool, and get a hydro jet therapy massage at the same time. This fountain in his pool shoots a large stream of water 5-6 meters in the air. He was just laying in his pool with his chin on top of the fountain spraying water all over the place. He was having a great time, and I thought I had finally found another zoo bear shot worth posting.

Grizzly Bear - Ursus arctos horribilis

Grizzlies are immense bears, weighing up to 1,400 pounds. They eat both plants and animals, and are very adept at fishing for salmon and trout. They rely on their sense of smell more than their hearing or sight, and often stand on their hind legs to sniff their surroundings.

The grizzly is just one subspecies, or type, of brown bear (Ursus arctos). While grizzlies are confined to northwestern North America, other types of brown bears are found in Europe, northern Asia and Japan. The species as a whole is found in fairly healthy numbers worldwide (200,000 or more). But their Conservation Status hides the fact that many brown bear populations are in danger of extinction. This is certainly true of grizzlies. Once found throughout the mountains of western North America, habitat loss and hunting have reduced their numbers to only about 1,000 in the lower 48 states. For this reason, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service considers the grizzly bear (south of Canada) to be threatened with extinction.

Did You Know?
A grizzly bear can sprint 30 to 35 miles an hour over short distances -- faster than many horses.

Source - St. Louis Zoo website
coasties, pablominto, wallhalla15, Janice, TAZ, SunToucher, izler, marhowie, tinman, PDP, Dando, jeanpaul, iglootrek, SkyF, jcoowanitwong, annagrace, zeca, gerhardt, Aramok, sAner, dew77, saguzar, touristdidi, valy67, aido, Gudule, CTP has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi Scott

With that permanent furry overcoat, the heat must be a killer during hot summer weather. Nice shot and maybe afterwards he wasn't quite so 'Grizzly'. :-)

  • Great 
  • jmp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1740 W: 95 N: 2273] (8411)
  • [2006-08-06 2:27]

Hi Scott,
This bear has found a way to keep cool, and here in Spain we have to do something similar to support this weather.
Good composition with a very good 1/60 s to show the water movement. Very good pose and gesture, where the bear seems tired of so many hot and to waste too much time near the fresh source!
Best regards, my friend.
José M.

very nice action shot Scott,
the spashing water, thehunting bear, very good in an image, good shot, very good job, I like it.
gr. jaap

Hi Scott,
I guess the heat feels even worse with a fur coat like that!
Nice for him to be able to enjoy his shower in the sun...
Good colours and pleasant details in the beast, well framed in a good composition!
Greetings,
Pablo -

Hello Scott,
great moment you captured here! I like POV, details and composition very much. Thank you for posting.
Gr.
Heinz

  • Great 
  • Janice Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3315 W: 148 N: 6113] (18648)
  • [2006-08-06 3:38]

Hi Scott, this fellow looks like he's needing to cool off. Good action shot with the water splashing up like this.
We don't have bears in our zoo anymore, which I think is a shame.
Janice

Hi Scott,
great action shot, with the spray water nicely motion-blurred. I had bears infront of the lense also, with the typical Bielefeld weather. It was not too bad actually, mostly dry, but cooler than lately so it was perfect for photography as the animals were quite active. And then the keeper allowed us in to hide honey and apples in the enclosure, which increased activity some more ;-)
Regards,
Gabi

  • Great 
  • TAZ Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2241 W: 47 N: 3167] (10926)
  • [2006-08-06 4:17]

What a beautiful portrait for this big Grizzly. I like the water efect which is nice bonus. Good system this hydro jet in the zoo. Congratulations my friend.

Hi Scott,
Great action photo. Looks like he's having a blast cooling of from the hot weather. I really like your close up, because it shows a lot of details. Great colors.
TFS,
Niek

  • Great 
  • izler Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 1399 W: 3 N: 30] (506)
  • [2006-08-06 6:09]

hi scott
funny and cool day for this bear. beautiful composition and good exposure. i agree with jmp; true exposure time show the water movement. colours, details and note are great.
tfs
regards
izler

  • Great 
  • viv Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 297 W: 3 N: 653] (3307)
  • [2006-08-06 6:17]

Hello Scott,
What a lucky guy you are to see this bear in action.
Great Job.
TFS
Vivian

Cool action shot Scott!
Perfect summertime post..
The 1/60th has conveyed the water's motion in a spectacular way :)
Great shot!

  • Great 
  • tinman Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 242 W: 7 N: 458] (2663)
  • [2006-08-06 11:06]

I was at that zoo many years ago!! Great post with the water action. Well done

Well captured Scott,
The details are nice, clear and sharp.
Good colours, lighting and exposure. POV is good.
Well composed and excellent notes.
Whipsnade has a few Eurasian bears, but they always look soooo bored. I did manage to get a good one of a bear at woburn a couple of weeks ago, but have a feeling that he looks a bit uninterested too!
Thanks for posting, have a great week.

  •      
  • PDP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor [C: 2821 W: 344 N: 3779] (11769)
  • [2006-08-06 15:12]

Hello Scott, interesting behaviour, I think I could do with some of that refreshment. Nice shot with good action. My only wish would be to see his eye. Good work.

  • Great 
  • Dando Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor [C: 637 W: 32 N: 792] (3084)
  • [2006-08-06 15:29]

Hi Scott, nice shot. I like the spray of the water around the bear and the great lighting showing his fur. As usual colours, exposure and details spot on. Great work, well done mt friend and TFS.
Dean.

Cool action shot Scott !!!
Love the composition as the bear is acting like a fountain with the water coming out of his neck. Sharp pic as the detail of the bear fur is outstanding and very colourful.

Hi Scott
Félicitation pour cette belle prise de vue .La composition ,l'éclairage et l'exposition tout est parfait.Il est vraiment entrein de se rafraîchir dans cet éclaboussure d'eau.
Merci et au revoir...JP

  • Great 
  • osse Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 962 W: 0 N: 89] (7801)
  • [2006-08-07 7:52]

Hi Scott
Nice action shot. Great colours, light, sharpnes and POV.
Well done mf

osse

  • Great 
  • SkyF Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2233 W: 188 N: 1929] (8127)
  • [2006-08-07 10:32]

Hello Scott,
this bear has thje right idea on such hot summer days. What a great way to cool down. Very well captured, looks like the bear is in its natural enviroment and not in an enclosed area. Great POV and wonderful details.
Sky

Hi Scott,
It's always an excitment to see this powerful Grizzly Bear. Well captured and composed. Great pov and dof. Thanks for posting.
JC

Hi Scott,

This is a nice capture of this hot fellow. I'm glad that zoos try harder these days to keep the animals comfortable. With the power problems there this summer I hope the zoo had some back up power. This is a nice composition and the action of the water is really nice.

Thanks for sharing.

Evelynn : )

What a nice, cooling shot. I can't imagine wearing that fur coat in the St. Louis heat! I'm getting ready to discover Chicago heat next week; we're off to my husband's 25th reunion!

Alli

  • Great 
  • zeca Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 373 W: 14 N: 538] (2881)
  • [2006-08-08 0:56]

Excelent timing Scott! Well done work!
Regards,
Zeca

This does capture the moment very nicely. I would love to see this in the wild one dat though. I have to agree on the "missing eye" though. well done.

Hello Scott, excllent action and a lot to look at, perfcet details very crisp, colors are great well done and TFS Kyle

I was looking at this one yesterday and it wasn't until I read your notes that I worked out what he was doing.... I guess he like the sensation and the added coolness of the water.

Nicely captures and the exposure was handled very well (expected from you though!)

TFS
Emma

Well this is a fun an refreshing shot, I feel like I can jump right in there with that thar bear, but I think he'd bite my head off. Great picture Scott. :)

  • Great 
  • sAner Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1490 W: 72 N: 1427] (4744)
  • [2006-08-08 14:38]

Wow, excellent frozen action Scott. Sharp focus and good colors. Exposure is perfect too. Well done & TFS!

Regards,
Pieter

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4774 W: 294 N: 4020] (13209)
  • [2006-08-08 15:35]

Hello Scott,
Funny capture.I liked POV,details,moment you caught and composition a lot.
TFS...:-)

Hi Scott,
Surely a relief for the high temperatures last days in North America. With this pic you´ll remember this hot wave more time.
Excelent moment captured, good details and colours
Regards
Hernán

Fantastic photo! He is full of life!

Hi Scott,
This is a great action shot. I'm glad for this bear that he can have a little refreshment. Good details and exposure. I really appreciated your notes about him. It must not be always easy to live in a zoo… TFS,
Claudine

Hi Scott !
Excellent picture, I love it ! Looks like he is havng a refreshing shower ! :-) Excellent details on the fur, beautiful colors, excellent composition and POV. I agree with you, bears always look so bored in zoos - and other animals too, sometimes.
Valérie.

  • Great 
  • aido Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor [C: 1044 W: 156 N: 1218] (4046)
  • [2006-08-14 14:26]

Hi Scott,
Seems I missed this one. A great shot and funny behaviour from this Bear :-) Excellent detail and well-thought out shot with the 1/60 shutter speed to capture the water movement. Great colours too and the tight crop with the water spray really adds some punch. I completely agree with your note about zoo animals looking bored, I find it quite saddening to see them like that and wouldn't want to post a picture any more unless it was to make a specific point. Great shot and a good note.
Cheers,
Adrian

  • Great 
  • Gudule Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor [C: 248 W: 11 N: 288] (1204)
  • [2006-08-26 20:25]

La note qui accompgane votre photo, Scott, est des plus intéressante. Et que dire de la photo qui est extraordinaire. Belle capture au bon moment.
Beaucoup de beaux détails de l'animal et quel «splash». Merci.

JN.

  • Great 
  • CTP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 647 W: 6 N: 1106] (3191)
  • [2006-08-28 1:42]

Hi Scott,
Excellent Bear capture.
I like the action shot here.
Great pov,dof,colors,note,framing,focus,sharpness and composition.Well Done.TFS
Have a Great Week My Friend,
Chris

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