Photo Gallery on Times Colonist
Photos: In search of the Spirit Bear
On Wednesday, B.C. conservationist and filmmaker Ian McAllister was in Victoria for the première of his new Imax film Great Bear Rainforest: Land of the Spirit Bear.
McAllister, who came up with the name Great Bear Rainforest, has been dedicated to protecting the wilderness that is one of the world’s largest temperate rainforests. The film, which took three years to create using the latest lightweight Imax cameras, is part of his efforts to show the world how important it is to preserve the rare and fragile forest.
Today in Islander, we present some of the dazzling still images from the film, narrated by Vancouver-born actor Ryan Reynolds, which plays all summer at the National Geographic Imax Theatre.
McAllister, who came up with the name Great Bear Rainforest, has been dedicated to protecting the wilderness that is one of the world’s largest temperate rainforests. The film, which took three years to create using the latest lightweight Imax cameras, is part of his efforts to show the world how important it is to preserve the rare and fragile forest.
Today in Islander, we present some of the dazzling still images from the film, narrated by Vancouver-born actor Ryan Reynolds, which plays all summer at the National Geographic Imax Theatre.
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Mother black bears can have both black and all-white cubs (known as spirit bears). This family looks out on to the Great Bear Rainforest.
Photograph By
IAN MCALLISTER
The salmon migration fuels the ecosystem cycle of the Great Bear Rainforest when they swim upstream to spawn.
Photograph By
IAN McALLISTER
The tide recedes along the coastline in the Great Bear Rainforest to reveal a sea star on the rocky intertidal zone, where herring roe is also visible.
Photograph By
Ian McAllister
Director and cinematographer Ian McAllister sets up his camera close to a spirit bear while it roams a stream to hunt for salmon.
Photograph By
Ian McAllister
The coastal grey wolf is the apex predator in the Great Bear Rainforest and is one of the last remaining wild wolf species.
Photograph By
Ian McAllister
Marven Robinson teaches his son, Nelson, about the Great Bear Rainforest, the home of their people, the Gitga’ata.
Photograph By
Ian McAllister
The coastal grey wolf hunts for food both on land and in the water in the Great Bear Rainforest.
Photograph By
IAN McALLISTER
Salmon feed bears and all levels of the ecosystem in the Great Bear Rainforest where they swim upstream annually to spawn.
Photograph By
IAN MCALLISTER
Director and cinematographer Ian McAllister sets up his camera in a stream.
Photograph By
Deirdre Leowinata, Courtesy Ian McAllister
Grizzlies stand on their hind legs for short periods to survey their surroundings.
Photograph By
Ian McAllister
Sea lions are among the many marine mammals that flourish in the nutrient-rich waters of the northern Pacific.
Photograph By
Ian McAllister
The nutrient-rich waters of the northern Pacific support giant kelp, which grow a foot a day and are the building blocks of the underwater ecosystem.
Photograph By
Ian McAllister
