Every year my buddies Paul and Al and I go camping in the eastern Sierras. We go to the same campground every year, Big Bend, just outside the east entrance to Yosemite. For four or five days Paul and Al fish, I take photographs and some guitar playing gets done. A few years back we were sitting around our campsite when we noticed a commotion, other campers crowded around near the creek. Not wanting to be left out, we jumped up and ran over to the group, me grabbing my camera just in case. We were rewarded with a bear crossing to the other side of the creek on some fallen logs. While  Paul, Al and the other campers stood and watched, I sat down at the edge of the creek and started shooting. The bear put on quite a show; sitting up watching us campers, scratching in places that shall remain unnamed and pacing back and forth, as well as using a tree to scratch its back. I continued to shoot as the bear moved around until I heard someone from behind (Paul or Al, not sure which) say quietly: “John”. Looking back I noticed everyone was slowly backing away. Looking forward I noticed that the bear was on the logs crossing the creek, much closer than I realized and moving in our direction. While picking myself up off the ground, I looked back to ensure there were others that I could out run should the bear decide to charge (you don’t have to be the fastest, just not the slowest). Fortunately, the bear only wanted some fish in a pool on our side of the creek. Neither the bear nor any campers were harmed in the production of these photos. Wildlife photography.

To see more of my wildlife photos visit https://jmacdphoto.com/wildlife/(opens in a new tab)