Tom Mangelsen's Polar Bear Pictures

[carlos_co]

Does anyone know in particular how Tom Mangelsen takes his polar bear

pictures? I have his 1998 polar bear calendar and I was very

surprised to see that the majority of his pictures were taken with a

Nikon 80-200/2.8. I would think that getting that close even in a

vehicle would be a dangerous thing to do ... Well, I'm pretty sure he

is still alive so I'm curious to know his exact technique.

[bobatkins]

Easy. You go to Churchill and get on the polar bear buggy like all

the hundreds of other polar bear photographers do. The buggy trundles

out of town to where the polar bears are, pulls up alongside them and

you shoot. The bears are fairly docile at the right time of year

(they're waiting for the sea to freeze I think), so there's no

danger (as long as you stay inside the buggy). When the sun sets,

you drive back to your bunkhouse and get ready for tomorrow's shoot!

 

<p>

 

There's an article on Churchill on the static content pages.

[dave_kemp]

Carlos, If you like Mangelsen's polar bear photos, you might like to

know that there is a recent (1997) book of them, Polar Dance: Born of

the North Wind, which won the 1997 Library Journal Best Book award. I

was in Mangelsen's gallery in Jackson WY a couple months ago admiring

his prints and I looked at it. The description in my Mangelsen

catalog says it has 281 images and was the result of eight years of

photographing these bears. The book has received raves from Andrew

Wyeth and Robert Bateman, and even Frans Lanting says it is "a

monumental book. It contains the finest collection of polar bear

photographs I know of." You can get it from any of Mangelsen's

galleries, or by calling 800-228-9686. It's a large hardbound, 264

pages, price $65. If you're into polar bear photography, this book is

a must.

[ron_niebrugge]

Mangelsen has a very nice web page at; www.imagesofnature.com

 

<p>

 

I had the pleasure of meeting him in Deanli this fall, and can say not only is he a excellent phototgrapher, but very friendly as well. A true class act!

[carlos_co]

Yeah, I actually have the Polar Dance book for more than a year

now (get it from Amazon, significantly cheaper than $65 I recall). I

also have a large poster of the cover of the book. Both are highly

recommended. However, the book gave me the impression that Tom

actually follows the bears on his own though ...

[bobatkins]

I should add that I don't know that Tom Mangelsen got all (or indeed any) of his polar

bear shots at Churchill. Maybe he shoots at other locations. However

I'd guess that 90% (maybe more) of all the published polar bear images

were shot in the Churchill area. If you just want pictures of polar

bears there'd probably be little point going anywhere else. If you wanted

to do a natural history photo essay on the life of a polar bear, then

you might want to go elsewhere, but it would probably be far more

expensive, far more difficult and probably far more dangerous.

[mike_sisk3]

FYI, Mangelsen's "Polar Dance" book is available at Costco here in

Southern California for $20.99 at the moment.

[tan]

Tom Mangelsen talked about his work and his POLAR DANCE book in an interview which appeared in the February 1998 issue of Outdoor Photographer.

[anthony___1]

Just to echo Dave Kemps' comment about Thomas Mangelsen studio. I

was there in early September and my wife and I visited the gallery

together. While she has been very supportive of my photography

efforts when she saw Mangelsens' work she said, "Oh, so THAT'S what

you're trying to do." She was enchanted and we stayed for quite a

while. Best thing I could have done to show her what I'm reaching

for. If you ever have a chance - go (and take your "significant

other")

[dan_smith]

Tom's shots are a lot more than the result of riding around in a

tundra buggy. The buggies are for keeping you alive as the Polar

Bear, along with the Tiger, are the two major species that actively

hunt and eat humans for food. Few photos are worth losing your life

over. As to his images, he works at them. Constantly. He knows his

gear & how it handles as well as his lover. He spends the time in

the field getting the images. A lot of time. And, he has one heck

of a boatload of talent & it shows in the images. I hope he keeps

getting the great images for us all to look at whether we are ever

going polar bear photograhing or not, his work is excellent.

[dave_kemp]

To follow up on my earlier post here and on Anthony Williams' comment,

for any of you who enjoy Mangelsen's work or would like to see it, he

has galleries in La Jolla, CA, Los Gatos, CA, Palm Desert, CA, Palo

Alto, CA, Denver, CO, Vail, CO, Galena, IL, Omaha, NE, Deer Valley,

UT, Park City, UT, and the aforementioned one in Jackson, WY. They

really are fun to visit and to browse in. When I was in the one in

Jackson, there was a quite large tiger head in the window that was of

such high technical quality I had a hard time believing it was a 35mm

image (a staff guy at the store assured me it was, though). I believe

you can get a free Mangelsen catalog by calling 800-228-9686; there is

a website at www.mangelsen.com.

[ShunCheung]

Tom Mangelson also has a gallary in the Central District of Hong Kong

(the island side). I was there two years ago and met his brother, who

apparently is the manager of that particular gallary. There sure are a

lot of excellent images.

[barklays___]

Just a couple of Polar Bear notes to 2 above posts. First I can't

really agree that Polar Bears "Actively" hunt humans, they will do it

if necessary in their minds but it doesn't happen on a regular basis.

If they did then the aformentioned town of Churchill's people

population would pretty well be history.

When a bear wanders into Churchill the Ministry Of Natural Resources

will tranquilise the animal and then proceed to take them to D 20,

Bear Jail. After a brief stay they're taken by chopper to designated

areas. This said Dan is right, Polar Bears are a very dangerous

animal so stay in the buggy!

Also Bob A's statement on the bears waiting for the ice so they could

hunt seals was correct. They won't eat much all summer and then

in winter gorge themselves on seal fat possibly gaining hundreds of

pounds per animal.

Facts aside if you get the chance to go photograph these great bears,

do it!! You'll get incredibly close.

[bobatkins]

I'm not a wildlife biologist, but I think the behavior of polar bears

in the Churchill area is non-typical. They are <em>relatively</em>

docile due to unusual conditions. They've been seen "playing" togther

with each other as well as with dogs. They are still dangerous

and unpredicable like all wild animals, but if you have to meet

a polar bear, Churchill seems to be the place to do it!

 

<p>

 

Out on the ice in their natural environment they have no fear of

man. Humans are as good as seals for a snack and I believe they

will hunt humans, not specifically because they are humans of course,

but because they

will hunt anything they can eat! Most animals don't do this, and

it makes polar bears particularly dangerous to be around.

[ydobon]

<P>A couple notes about Mangelsen's photography: Essentially all of

Mangelsen's wildlife shots are 35mm; whenever someone asks "What is

the largest size I can enlarge to?" in the regular Q&A forum, I just

think about those big Mangelsen shots...

 

<P>He also has a Linhof panorama camera and I believe some MF/LF gear

which are inevitably used only for landscape stuff. I concur with

Dan: He's a damned good technician, he's in the field a lot, and yes,

he's talented. He's a personable guy face-to-face and does the PR

stuff like book signings really well. He also appears to be a fairly

astute businessman; note that all four of his California galleries are

four very monied suburban towns (he probably has a good idea where his

stuff is gonna sell).

[carla_znak]

In response to the person who stated that polar bears are " non-typical" I say read a book on the bears in Churchill. As for myself, I do not need to read a book because I could write one on Churchill. Most of the people responding have eather read about Churchill or have made a brief visit, as for myself, my brief visit lasted 18 years. I am not a wildlife biologist, but polar bears begin to " play fight " when they are cubs. This is very normal and also contious into adulthood. Also, if the bears hunted man I would be dead, and bears don't really hunt it's more like stalking. A bear won't run after a seal, it will stand without moving for hours over a breathe hole waiting for a seal to pop up. Normally if a bear sees a human it will run away or just stay away but rarly will it attack, not saying it has never happened because I know people who have been mauled.

 

Anyways, Churchill is a very nice town and the people there are extremely friendly. Just a note to people traveling on Calm Air, use locks and try to make suitcases heavy because they have a tendancy to get thrown around ( trust me I know ).

 

For anyone planning on traveling to Churchill, I do suggest giving Paul Ratson a call. He runs a different kind of tour called Adventure Walking Tours. It is safe and you get a different feel for Churchill and the area by walking on the tundra instead of driving on it.( The walking tours don't make people walk far. A bus is just a few feet away and when there are bears around you will be inside safely ).

 

If you have any questions, comments, or think I'm wrong, please respond to this.

 

Scott

[tom_walker1]

I have the privilege of saying that Tom is a friend. We've spent many good days together both at Churchill and on trips I arranged here in Alaska. Please allow me a few comments. First, the behaviors seen at Churchill ARE normal. I have viewed bears here in Alaska and also in Spitsbergen. Bears are much shyer when hunted. At churchill, as at mcneil river, which i wrote a book about, we get to see bears uninhibited and being themselves. The old eskimos in Alaska tell me that polar bears are not as dangerous as people think. i could tell a few of these stories but it would be off point. I agree with Bob, however, that any bear is dangerous, for that matter ANY wild animal can be. The unique part of Churchill is the CONCENTRATIONS of bears brought about only in part because they have been fed by people ever since the military moved in there in, what, the 50's? the bears at Cape Churchill are a natural concentration as they wait for sea ice. Up until very recently the bears were fed to ensure viewing opportunities for tourists. this practice is quickly dying out. Now, I will quickly add that Tom mangelsen, above all others,did not approve of, nor actively take part in bear feeding. Over the years he rented his own buggy and more often than not it held just two or three people. He also went up several summers on his own. These trips cost a helluva lot and the body of work he accumlated is probably beyond the financial resources of most people including pro photographers. Last time I saw Tom at Churchill he was avoiding an area of bear concentration to work on one single bear off on its own. it had never, apparently, been fed and offered some neat behaviors. Just goes to show that the best photos come when working alone, not in "packs" like papparizzi (or however you spell it.) Tom, by the way, is an outspoken critic of game farm photography. I believe his polar bear book to be the best single species wildlife book ever compiled. Allow me to be so prejudiced...he's a friend and a very kind gentleman.

[bobatkins]

I said the behavior of Polar bears in the Churchill area is non-typical, but what I meant by that wasn't that it was "abnormal", but that polar bears are solitary critters in most places and for for most of the year. The only (well known) place they congregate is in the Churchill area. You pretty much don't get to photograph groups of polar bears anywhere else. They are usually quite territorial and don't tollerate each other well (except for family groups). Or am I wrong?

[tom_walker1]

Just to be brief...yes, there are places were polar bears congregate in as easy acceptance of one another as at Churchill...one such is the island off the Siberian coast in the Arctic Ocean as documented in a book by a Russian scientist who WALKS among the bears. His name and the title of the book escapes me but I believe the publisher is Voyageur Press...now THOSE are some unusual pictures. There is a place in Alaska where polar bears also congregate, but not in the numbers we see in Siberia, or in Churchill. Forget photographing there..."tourists" are not wleocme in the village.

[mark_augustowich]

The name of the Russian Biologist is Nikita Ovsyanikov, and I have had

the opportunity to meet him twice when he was in Churchill, where I

live and work as a guide. His book DOES have some unusual images, and

his slide presentations are incredible - he is very knowledgable. I

met him at Cape Churchill when he came to observe and compare the

behavior patterns of the Polar Bears in this region to the ones on

Wrangel Isaland. Anyone interested in Polar Bears should read this

book as well as Polar Dance by Tom Mangelsen, (which in my opinion is

one of the best). To return to this thread Tom is not only a personal

friend, but a talented photographer who works long and hard to provide

accurate documentation of his subject - no bells and whistles here.

He truly is a class act.