Bears of the McNeil River
By Mark Hardgrave
"Teddy" and "Tuffy" waking up from an afternoon nap next to the upper viewing pad at the McNeil river in Alaska. Our ranger, Polly Hessing watches the bears as the rest of us fire off so many shots our motor drives are smoking. To the right is my 300 mm lens, which at this point they are too close to photograph. Photo taken with Nikon N-90, Nikkor 35-70, Fuji Provia film. There is no place in the world where you can get this close to brown bears in the wild. Still gives me a rush when I look back at these pics.
As they wake up from their nap, the bears walk by within 2 feet from the edge of the viewing pad. In the book "River of Bears" by Tom Walker and Larry Aumiller, you will see photos like this. Almost every vistor to McNeil usually gets to see "Teddy" with her cubs this close. It is not unusual to see "Teddy" nurse her cubs just a few feet from the viewing pad. Nikon N-90, Nikkor 35-70, Fuji Provia film.
The weather changes almost hourly, it can go from sunny to cloudy and back to sunny. It is a good idea to have several types of film as well as several camera bodies to take advantage of this ever-changing weather. When the sun is out the water turns a nice blue color. Also, the bears look really great in the low angled light. Nikon F4s, Nikkor 300 2.8 EDIF, Fuji Velvia film.
A young male enjoys an afternoon nap near the McNeil falls.