Going Places

all of which feature exquisite lighting , razor-sharp focus and uncanny timing in capturing an animal in a beautiful position – invite the viewer to linger on the image for not just a few seconds, but minutes on end. Absorbing the wonderful detail, the intricacies and the mood of the image are all part of the enjoyment and intrigue of contemplating his impressive work. Unquestionably, for Fast and many other wildlife and nature photographers, capturing polar bears play wrestling or sparring is a prized opportunity. And Fast has had that privilege many times. "e cover shot for my last book was shot just outside the Seal River Lodge," says Fast, who for many years was a lead guide at the popular Churchill retreat. "e bears often come close to the lodge, but we have a rule that we don't get closer than 50 metres. If we are fortunate enough to witness them wrestling in a great natural setting, such as the ice-covered rocks by Seal River, we've got the makings for some powerful imagery." Beautiful natural settings are certainly another hallmark of Fast's imagery, which is currently being utilized at the Assiniboine Park Zoo's spectacular Journey to Churchill W I N T E R 2 0 1 5 | G O I N G P L A C E S 27 Save with CAA CAA makes outdoor adventures more affordable. Members get discounts on a wide range of products and services: • Capture stunning images of Manitoba wildlife on a trip up north with Frontiers North Adventure (save 10% when you book with CAA Travel). • Stay warm for less on your outdoor shoots with winter clothing at Olympia Cycle and Ski (save 10%) or shop online at Sport Chek or Sierra Trading Post through www.caarewards.ca and earn up to 6% back in CAA Dollars. • When you're not pressing the shutter button, keep your hands toasty with Raber Glove's iconic Garbage Mitts (save 18% with exclusive member pricing at CAA Manitoba service centres or online at shop.caamanitoba.com). • Once you're back inside where it's warm, create a photo book of your best shots at GroupBook (save 30%). Find full CAA Rewards partner details at www.caamanitoba.com/rewards. exhibit. His Wapusk book, for example, features a number of jaw-dropping photo- graphs of snow-white polar bears framed with bright purple fireweed, which offers a striking contrast of colour. Of course, flowers in the sub-arctic means July or August and much warmer temperatures, something Fast doesn't shy away from either. "Warm temperatures are certainly a lot easier on the human body, as well as the cam- era body!" says Fast, whose go-to polar bear lens is a 200-400-millimetre zoom. "Touching a ver y cold camera feels surprisingly like touching fire. Under such circumstances, I would not call the experience fun. But when a mother polar bear and her two very young cubs move into your viewfinder after a four- or five-hour wait, it is certainly exhilarating." For me, bouncing around the backroads near Grand Prairie on a -25 C day, the perse- verance doesn't quite match that of Fast. Still, when you step outside and it feels like a brick has hit you in the face and your fingers go numb, well, it's dedication to the cause. And, thankfully, I had one other thing going for me. My subject, an old dilapidated farm truck, was in no condition to be charging me. GP

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