Black Bear

This Black Bear showed up on our property at 1 PM today. And just a few days ago, a 62-year-old woman was killed by one on an island in Ontario waters, just 4.5 miles from our house! That one was dispatched.
However, I still dusted off the .357 magnum while taking these full-frame photos from about 20 yards. And I had one hand on the door knob as well! It was a poor blueberry crop this year, so it was no doubt here looking for acorns.

CDMOOSE wrote in post #18921675
This Black Bear showed up on our property at 1 PM today. And just a few days ago, a 62-year-old woman was killed by one on an island in Ontario waters, just 4.5 miles from our house! That one was dispatched.
However, I still dusted off the .357 magnum while taking these full-frame photos from about 20 yards. And I had one hand on the door knob as well! It was a poor blueberry crop this year, so it was no doubt here looking for acorns.

Hosted photo: posted by CDMOOSE in
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forum: Wildlife

Hosted photo: posted by CDMOOSE in
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forum: Wildlife

Nice black bear photo Al. They seem to only come to my place after dark.ߘ

Nice shots, I don't think my 70-200mm lens would give me a safe working distance from a bear.

KT29 wrote in post #18921744
Nice black bear photo Al. They seem to only come to my place after dark.ߘ

Thank you for commenting, Terry. I would agree that most encounters are after dark. I do think, though, that this time of year when they are trying to fatten up for winter that it's a 24-hour a day pursuit.

dm1215al wrote in post #18921755
Nice shots, I don't think my 70-200mm lens would give me a safe working distance from a bear.

Thank you for commenting, as well. I appreciate it. Actually, I have a 70-200 that I would have grabbed first, but it wasn't on my other body at the time. I had real trouble trying to squeeze this bear into the frame at only 20 yards. I'm just glad I fit him in decently in a couple. The other thing I'll say about Black Bears is that they are darned hard to expose for; they are so blasted black that it throws everything off.

Al

Both beautiful shots. I love taking photos of bears.

John

johnohio wrote in post #18922305
Both beautiful shots. I love taking photos of bears.

John

Thank you for commenting, John. They really are magnificent animals and this one looked to be in great shape as well.

CDMOOSE wrote in post #18921965
Thank you for commenting, Terry. I would agree that most encounters are after dark. I do think, though, that this time of year when they are trying to fatten up for winter that it's a 24-hour a day pursuit.

Thank you for commenting, as well. I appreciate it. Actually, I have a 70-200 that I would have grabbed first, but it wasn't on my other body at the time. I had real trouble trying to squeeze this bear into the frame at only 20 yards. I'm just glad I fit him in decently in a couple. The other thing I'll say about Black Bears is that they are darned hard to expose for; they are so blasted black that it throws everything off.

Al

Agree with your plight on the exposure for bears. I go to Yellowstone Park now and then, and have the same problem with bison pictures. Being a duffer, my only solution is to bracket a lot, shoot in Raw, and hope for the best.

Teton wrote in post #18922574
Agree with your plight on the exposure for bears. I go to Yellowstone Park now and then, and have the same problem with bison pictures. Being a duffer, my only solution is to bracket a lot, shoot in Raw, and hope for the best.

Yes, and I also think that it's often difficult for the camera to grab a good focus on something with a lot of soft fur.