Salmon swipe, Paul Souders, USA, 2011

Paul Souders/Unforgettable Behavior
October 28, 2021
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Bear grabs at salmon while swimming underwater
Paul Souders/Unforgettable Behavior

Salmon swipe
Paul Souders, USA
2011

“I set out to show a salmon’s-eye view of a swimming bear swiping at a fish with its huge paws,” Souders said. In late summer, red and chum salmon head upstream to spawn. Grizzly bears cluster around good fishing spots on the rivers to gorge on the salmon, in preparation for the long winter. At shallow points, they wade into the water to try to grab the fish. “I found an accessible pool, just below a steep set of river rapids, where the salmon rested before the difficult climb upstream,” Souders said. He submerged his camera on a ballasted tripod, and with a radio-controlled remote trigger, sat across the river and waited. It took four days before this adult female provided the action Souders was after.

Technical specification: Canon EOS-1Ds III + 16-35mm lens; 1/250 sec at f10; modified housing; radio remote-control

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