McNeil bears are sometimes comical to watch with their many expressions. Here a young cub sits up from a long nap to "see" where his mom is. It is very comical to watch the cubs play and fight with each other. Upper viewing pad at McNeil falls. Nikon F4s, Nikkor 300 2.8 EDIF, Fuji Provia film

Mother and cub often fish together, but the cub may not always get something to eat. Here, "Mouse" carries the fish while her cub "Annette" tries to take the fish for herself. Later I have a shot of "Annette" catching a fish on her own and running like heck to get the chance to eat the fish by herself. The gull in the background will hang around and get the scraps it there are any left. Sometimes we saw eagles hanging around to get them a snack. Nikon F4s, Nikkor 300 2.8 EDIF with TC-14B, Fuji Velvia film.

Got blood? A little blood mustache after a little fish killing. Photo opportunities went on like this for hours at a time. At times a 300 mm lens was way too much. McNeil is a place where you can get great bear photos without having to buy the "big glass". A 500 mm would be nice for some real extreme close shots, but you could get nice senics with the 300 mm. If you take a 500 mm, you can alternate days taking it. It is too tough to take both lenses each day. I found that my TC-14B was perfect to use with my 300mm. I effectively had a 420 mm f/4, which worked out nice for a lot of shots. Nikon F4s, Nikkor 300 2.8 EDIF, Vuji Velvia film.

As you can see, "Teddy" walked right up to the upper viewing pad and laid down and took her a nap. This is where I took the first shot of her back on page one of my bear page. To the right is Shelly Scott, my tripod and camera, and in the center is Polly Hessing of the Alaska Fish and Game. "Teddy" is about 4 or 5 feet from Polly. We were under very strict rules while at McNeil, one was not to make any sudden moves when the bears are around us. Nikon N-90, Nikkor 35-70, Fuji Provia Film

...More Bears