"Starstruck"

Artist: Martin Smart
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Card: US$4.99
Print: from US$21.38

"Starstruck"

Chosen as “Photo of the Week” in the Canadiana Group on Ist December 2009.

Featured in “Going Coastal” November 2009

This female Black Bear came down to feed along the rocky coastline with her two cubs. We had been fishing all morning in the Tlupana Inlet (Nootka Sound) on the west coast of Vancouver Island and were returning to our base for lunch in the pouring rain with a couple of Chinook Salmon on board that we had caught earlier, when we spotted her. As we got closer and she heard us approaching, she sent her cubs back up the mountain side and watched us warily whilst getting to grips with a starfish she had caught.
We moved in a little closer so that I could get a few photographs but as we did so she lost interest in the starfish as she could smell the salmon we had on board and decided that these would probably make a more satisfying meal! At one point it looked as though she was actually going to make a leap towards the boat so we backed off to a safer distance whilst I continued to photograph.
For a change I’ve given this one a little artistic touch-up in Photoshop CS3.

Canon 20D
1/60sec f6.3 ISO 200
Focal length 100mm

"Starstruck" belongs to the following groups:

**FOCUS and LIGHTING**, All That is Nature (Photography Only), Americas ~ Rural, Urban, Wild, Free, Animal Kingdom, Animal Photography -*4 legged & furry shots Only*, Bears of the world, Canadiana - (with location & limit 3/day), Canon DSLR (One Image Per Day & A Canon Camera Must Be In The Description Before It's Accepted), Creative, Talented, and Unknown, Eye Contact (Animals Only), For the love of Canon - 2 Images per day with type of Canon camera used, Friends of RedBubble, Going Coastal (2 art per day), High Quality Animal Images - 1 Submission a Week, Just Pure Nature., Live and Let Live, Mood & Ambience - Strictly Photos, Nature's Wonders, Pacific Northwest , Shameless Self-Promotion, The Beauty of Nature (Nothing Man-Made) and The Great Outdoors or Uninhabited lands of the World Available for sale as

Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints and Framed Prints

Sharon K. Shubert

What a wonderful capture of nature at its finest! :)
Martin Smart replied

Hi Sharon, thanks so much for the comment!
Mindy Dick

Beautiful Mamma…Oh the spots you find…I love how she is looking right at you :-)
Martin Smart replied

Hi Mindy, thanks so much..always got to have a camera close to hand!!
Jonathan L Green

love it !
Martin Smart replied

Thanks very much Jonathan!
Dave & Trena P...

oh wow!!! what a great capture!!! just amazing!!!
Martin Smart replied

Hi Dave & Treena, thanks so much for the compliments, much appreciated!
Karen Tillotson

What an amazing shot! I had no idea bears liked starfish….awesome!
Martin Smart replied

Thank you very much for the compliments Karen, much appreciated!
Kay Kempton Raade

You have a great shot and a great story to go with it. And you kept the salmon?
Martin Smart replied

Thanks very much Kay..oh yes we kept the salmon… and it was good!!
Judy Grant

Smashing !!! Love this great capture ! Bravo ! :)
Martin Smart replied

Thanks so much Judy!
Mariann Rea

Wonderful image! I’ve never seen a bear eat a starfish! :)
Martin Smart replied

Thank you very much Mariann!
tkrosevear

Amazing shot and love the narrative Martin ;) xoxox ♥
Martin Smart replied

Hi Tammy, thanks so much for your comments, much appreciated!
Heather Rivet...

fantastic
Martin Smart replied

Thanks very much Heather!
Erika Gouws

What a wonderful experience to be so close to this animal! Beautiful capture!
Martin Smart replied

Thanks so much Erica!
David Lewins LRPS

Superb Martin and excellent timing, the artisic touch-up works for me and gives the image some further texture.
Martin Smart replied

Hi David, thank you very much for the compliments and glad you liked the treatment!
Bunny Clarke

Great capture! Superb find and catch. Good thing she couldn’t get to you.
Martin Smart replied

Hi Bunny, thank you so much for your comments!
Rosemaree

This is such a fantastic capture.. What a wonderful thing to have been able to see in real life…
Martin Smart replied

Thank you so much Rosemaree for your compliment, much appreciated!
Trish Meyer

Wonderful capture and story.
Martin Smart replied

Thank you very much for your comments Baynanno1
Karen Kaleta

Beautiful Martin! And, I love the artistic touch. I use this a lot. Draws them in as they say.
Martin Smart replied

Very much appreciate your compliment Karen and glad you like the artistic touch! Thank you.
Marleia Main

Great photo!! She is beautiful :>)
Martin Smart replied

Thanks very much Marleia!
Gail Bridger

Wow Martin, what stunning pictures you have here!!
She certainly beautiful…awesome!!!
Martin Smart replied

Thank you so much for such a very nice comment Gail, much appreciated!
Mary Campbell

Great catch both her and you! Interesting story too.
Martin Smart replied

Thank you for your comments Mary, much appreciated!
Sean Jansen

Wonderful capture….looks like this one is enjoying her snack !!
Martin Smart replied

I think she would have enjoyed the salmon we had on board even more Sean!! Thanks so much for your comments!
Torfinn Johann...

Great capture! I think salmon would taste better for all of us :-)
Martin Smart replied

Would certainly agree with you on that Torfinn!! Thanks very much for your comments!
greenstone

stunning catch! amazing!!!!!!!
Martin Smart replied

Much appreciate your comments greenstone, thank you
RickF

Great shot!
Martin Smart replied

Thank you very much Rick!
Kim McClain
Martin Smart replied

I’m very pleased to be in the Top Ten Kim, thanks very much for organising the challenge!
Cee Neuner

Gorgeous capture!!!
Martin Smart replied

Thank you so much Cee!
Ruth Lambert

Terriffic shot!! Great work!
Martin Smart replied

Thank you very much Ruth!
Vickie Emms

this is a wonderful photo op Martin,,,,,,,,,you painted a vivid picture with your story too,,,,,,,,,love this
Martin Smart replied

Thanks very much for your kind words Vickie and so glad you like this one!
Sharon Mau

Aloha Martin, I enjoy your wonderful story. She is a beautiful creature, a magnificent bear.
Martin Smart replied

Thank you so much for your kind comments Sharon!
LindaJBazor

Congratulations!
Martin Smart replied

Wow, thank you so much Linda, I really appreciate the feature!
Nigel Bangert

You need a longer lens! Great story, really interesting. It must be amazing to have this kind of wildlife wandering around.Brilliant shot.
Martin Smart replied

Thanks very much for your comments Nigel, I do have a longer lens but it would have been difficult to handle on the small fishing boat we were on!
Rambler25

What an amazing photo! I would never have thought that a bear would even consider eating a star fish.
Martin Smart replied

Much appreciate your comments E.R, thank you!
Vickie Emms 25 days ago

Congratulations Martin!
Martin Smart replied 25 days ago

Wow, thank you very much for this honour Vickie, this has made my day!! Greatly appreciated!!