exif - second shot
d2000/mbd200
200-400 f4 with kirk foot
1.4 tc
f/8 1/250 iso 400
white balance cloudy
matrix metering

bogan carbon tripod - they have the winged locks which are essential for quick action tripod use. I dont usually carry my monster carbon tripod to on a trip like this because the twist locks are toooooo slooooooooooooow. . .

foba super ballhead = easy to use, it's not the smoothest ballhead out there but it's tough and I the large winged handle makes it easy to run with gloves on.

The snow shots were manual metered off the snow. I wanted some detail in the snow, but I also wanted to get some detail in the bears, and the sun was shining directly over head, about the worst possible lighting for snow and almost black subjects! I know it was cloudy WB but I cant remember the shutter speed ISO and ap. . . sorry.

I dont remember the rest of data, if I find it I'll post it. . .

I really do trust myself, but I was a good distance away with a very large ravine and lots of natural food sources around me. I sized up the fact that even while a gizzly is protective of her baby, she almost never will travel those distances unless there's really a compelling reason, and humans usually are not enough of a reason. She wont leave that baby for long. Once she crossed the snow and got the kill attitude is when I left. . . I dont think she would have come after me, but you never know with grizzly bears, and I did not want to have a stand off with her, I was there to have fun, not get in her way. . .

"Knowing what you want" I always go to the field with a plan. I always look at the weather, and the current conditions, both of the animal and the environment. Right now most of the animals are spending a lot of time feeding. They also are sheeding so I'll be lookin for shots of them scratching, rubbing and eating. I'll also try to find predations shots, like these. . .

I always try to get some of each when there's more than one subject, you never know when they might come in handy, or which one really turns out. . . Subject distance, perspective, focal length, and apature also are part of the decision making. Long lenses dont have much depth of field ever stopped down, so at 500mm even if you shoot at f11 or f16 your NOT going to get the two in focuse at the same time.