Black Bear, Yosemite NP

JohnC

JohnC

Well-Known Member
I spent five nights in Yosemite valley a couple of weeks ago. One a hike up behind Mirror Lake I made a new friend. It's the first time I've seen a bear and it was an amazing experience. He was right next to the trail. He moved around a little while eating before striking this pose for me. He stayed around for about 5-6 minutes before finally sauntering off to find desert.


 
JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
Hey John,

Welcome to FocalWorld!

It's great to see you here, and it's always great to see photos from Yosemite! That is a pretty cool bear shot. It's great that you saw one, I had been going there for years before I finally saw a bear. I think my experience was similar where I could from a safe distance, but close enough with a longer lens to capture the bear doing bear things. It was very exciting.

Again, welcome I hope you enjoy what you have seen of FocalWorld so far, it's a really awesome community here.

Jim
 
JohnC

JohnC

Well-Known Member
Thanks all for the welcome and the kind words.

I've been going to Yosemite once or twice a year since 2011 and this was my first bear sighting. Although I did get some other shots, they weren't always from an angle I would have preferred and I was pretty much locked into my location from which I couldn't really change my perspective. Seems bears have a mind of their own. This also happened to be the sharpest of my shots although it still isn't as good as it should have been. in my haste to get some shots before he left, I forgot to turn on the VR after removing the camera from the backpack. I could really kick myself for that. Or for remembering to turn it off during me previous tripod shots. :)

He was probably between 50-60 yards away at all times and was quite comfortable with the few hikers who had stopped to watch him. I also cropped this shot which makes him look a bit closer especially with my aps-c D7100. Watching him settle into this pose was quite humorous. He was like a kid settling in at the dinner table then dropping his arms on the table as if to announce his presence.

I've got a reservation to go back in August but that will be camping at Tuolumne Meadows. Can't wait.
 
Kyle Jones

Kyle Jones

Moderator
Very cool! I've been to Yosemite many many times and never had a chance to photograph a bear. I love those fuzzy guys...
 
JohnC

JohnC

Well-Known Member
Kyle Jones said:
Very cool! I've been to Yosemite many many times and never had a chance to photograph a bear. I love those fuzzy guys...
Click to expand...
It’s definitely a very cool experience. I had already run into a few visitors who had seen a bear in the previous couple of days. I was feeling a bit disappointed before hitting the jackpot. I always love my trips to Yosemite, but this was quite the highlight of any of my trips.
 
JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
John, you had mentioned the bears movements. I had noticed that too, it's funny they almost seem human the way they sit or walk, or decide to scratch their back. It's a really cool experience to have seen them for more then a brief minute.
 
JohnC

JohnC

Well-Known Member
Yeah, they really are fascinating to watch if they aren’t just scurrying off. Hearing him rip logs open, even though it was with his back to me, was pretty interesting. It sounded like someone splitting logs, but he was doing it with just his claws. You definitely don’t won’t to get on their bad side. :)
 
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