Polar bear symmetry
Polar bear sleeps on the snow covered arctic barrier island in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Canon 1D Mark IV, 500mm f/4L IS, with 1.4x (910mm) 1/500 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 400.
While her cubs were off playing, this female polar bear curled up on the snow and dozed off occasionally. The posture makes a beautiful, symmetrical pose. It is a cropped version of an image taken with a Canon 1D Mark IV, 500mm + 1.4x extender, which translates into a focal length of 910mm. That is a long reach, but it is still very sharp.
As Fairbanks awaits a chilly minus 50 degree temperature this weekend, it is amazing that these bears survive in the chilly arctic waters. They are incredibly well insulated with up to 4 inches of fat under some of that white fur. Ian Sterling reports in his book on Polar Bears, that aerial infrared heat sensing equipment can’t detect the actual bear, just the warm air exiting their mouth when trekking across the ice pack.
I’ll be processing more images from this folder over the next week and will share a few keepers on subsequent posts. You can see more polar bear photos on my website.
