Crossing the Sun

The bear in this photograph was on the tidal flats at dawn, searching for clams. It was a very foggy morning, but the sun was trying to break through. The sun cast a beautiful band of light across the tidal flats, and glowed an incredible orange color. I imagined how amazing it would be to photograph the bear as it crossed the band of light - but of course, the bear didn't know what it was "supposed" to do! The bear wandered away from the band of light frequently, and I had to pick up my tripod and slosh through the water in order to line up the bear at the left side of the band of light, hoping the bear would move through it. Sometimes the bear would cross the light, but it would be heading away from me while it crossed, which didn't make for a good photograph. In many of my photographs, the bear does cross the light, but its gait is ungainly, or its silhouette merges with seagulls. Out of the several hundred photos I took, only one worked - and I was thrilled! The conditions that morning were so unusual; I truly do feel that this was a once in a lifetime photograph.

Asleep 'til Noon

This beautiful coastal brown bear was sleeping near a river in Alaska’s Lake Clark National Park. As soon as the bear heard the splash of a salmon, though, she leaped up and dove into the water after her meal! Now, several people have emailed me saying that someone "stole" my photograph from me, because they saw this same sleeping bear at Walmart! In this case, no, it's just that Phyllis Burchett and I were standing side by side when we photographed this bear. But even when two photographers have almost exactly the same picture, their processing of the photo is often different, resulting in two versions of the same subject. Here is Phyllis's version of the photograph, if you'd like to take a look: www.walmart.com/ip/Deep-Sleep-Sepia-Bear-Photography-Stretched-Canvas-Print-Wall-Art-By-PHBurchett/244002846

Raggy Bear, Shaggy Bear, Baggy Bear Too

This is the bear I picture when I sing the song "Waltzing With Bears." Have a listen and let me know if you agree! https://youtu.be/jbv7Lfnu5OU

Bear Cub #1

I was observing a mother bear and her three cubs while she was hunting for clams one morning. The three cubs (just a few months old) played together, chasing each other and rolling in the mud, just like puppies or kittens. At one point, one of the cubs looked in my direction and started marching directly toward me! I think its curiosity was piqued by the sound of my camera. The cub came so close to me that it was no longer in range of my telephoto lens, and I had to throw sand at it so it would go back to its mother! Fortunately, the cub returned to its mother, who didn't seem disturbed by its proximity to people. I was with a bear guide, who was leading a group of photographers, and the bear guide made sure that we all stood close together. Bears don't have good eyesight, so by having us stand together at all times, we looked like one large organism to the bears. Without a bear guide, I definitely would never have stood as close to bears as I was when I made this photograph!

Bear Cub #3

I was observing a mother bear and her three cubs while she was hunting for clams one morning. The three cubs (just a few months old) played together, chasing each other and rolling in the mud, just like puppies or kittens. At one point, one of the cubs looked in my direction and started marching directly toward me! I think its curiosity was piqued by the sound of my camera. The cub came so close to me that it was no longer in range of my telephoto lens, and I had to throw sand at it so it would go back to its mother! Fortunately, the cub returned to its mother, who didn't seem disturbed by its proximity to people. I was with a bear guide, who was leading a group of photographers, and the bear guide made sure that we all stood close together. Bears don't have good eyesight, so by having us stand together at all times, we looked like one large organism to the bears. Without a bear guide, I definitely would never have stood as close to bears as I was when I made this photograph!

Mama Bear Grazing

This beautiful blonde bear is mother to the three cubs I wrote about earlier in this gallery!

Sparring Bears 1

This photograph was taken in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. These two bears were pacing up and down along the shoreline of Silver Salmon Creek seemingly ignoring one another, when suddenly they erupted into a territorial fight. The bears roared ferociously, bared their teeth, and pushed and shoved each other with fierce intensity. Water churned, rocks flew out from underfoot, and strings of saliva sprayed from their mouths as the bears sparred for dominance. The fight lasted just a little over a minute, and believe me, my heart was racing the entire time, as I felt exhilarated, awed, and a little frightened, too (we were close enough to the bears that I was able to take this photograph at only 210 mm). Can you guess which bear won the contest? The bear on the left was the victor, and the bear on the right slunk away. Remember, you should never approach bears without being accompanied by a reputable bear guide!

Sparring Bears 2

This photograph was taken in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. These two bears were pacing up and down along the shoreline of Silver Salmon Creek seemingly ignoring one another, when suddenly they erupted into a territorial fight. The bears roared ferociously, bared their teeth, and pushed and shoved each other with fierce intensity. Water churned, rocks flew out from underfoot, and strings of saliva sprayed from their mouths as the bears sparred for dominance. The fight lasted just a little over a minute, and believe me, my heart was racing the entire time, as I felt exhilarated, awed, and a little frightened, too (we were close enough to the bears that I was able to take this photograph at only 210 mm). Can you guess which bear won the contest? The bear on the left was the victor, and the bear on the right slunk away. Remember, you should never approach bears without being accompanied by a reputable bear guide!

Sparring Bears 3

This photograph was taken in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. These two bears were pacing up and down along the shoreline of Silver Salmon Creek seemingly ignoring one another, when suddenly they erupted into a territorial fight. The bears roared ferociously, bared their teeth, and pushed and shoved each other with fierce intensity. Water churned, rocks flew out from underfoot, and strings of saliva sprayed from their mouths as the bears sparred for dominance. The fight lasted just a little over a minute, and believe me, my heart was racing the entire time, as I felt exhilarated, awed, and a little frightened, too (we were close enough to the bears that I was able to take this photograph at only 210 mm). Can you guess which bear won the contest? The bear on the left was the victor, and the bear on the right slunk away. Remember, you should never approach bears without being accompanied by a reputable bear guide!

Looking for Salmon

I was photographing bears in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska, watching them dive into the water, chasing salmon. It's great fun watching bears trying to catch salmon - it's a lot harder for them to succeed than it appears in the nature documentaries on TV! Whenever the bears I observed failed to catch a fish, they inevitably stood up and looked around in seeming bewilderment. So, I put my camera on my tripod in a vertical position in order to capture this behavior. I was rooting for the bear to catch the fish, but sure enough, it missed, stood up, and I took the photograph.

At Dawn

A coastal brown bear hunts for clams along the Cook Inlet in Alaska. The pinks and oranges of dawn, combined with the stillness and quiet of the morning, made me feel as though I was living inside of a seashell.

At the Riverbank

"Sometimes I just sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits." - A.A. Milne I love the attitude of the bear in this photograph. It was really fun to watch her - she was lazing about, scratching her belly and behind her ears, thoroughly enjoying her day!