Bear Photography in the Bella Coola Valley

I made a trip out to the Bella Coola Valley this September to hopefully see some bears fishing for salmon along the Atnarko River. The timing was great, because I saw several bears moving up the river.

It's the first time I really tried wildlife photography and it was quite challenging to say the least. Unfortunately it was raining or overcast the entire time, so I had to drastically lower the shutter speed, keep the aperture open and boost the ISO. All-in-all I'm very happy with the results considering this was my first dedicated trip for wildlife photography.

I can hardly wait to go back next season.

I used a Nikon D850 with a Tamron 70-200mm lens and a Joby Design Algonquin tripod. I had hoped to use the Nikon 200-500mm lens for even closer-up shots, but due to the poor light conditions I had to opt for a lens with a wider aperture.