Brown Bear, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska – Image 2587

I shot this brown bear from my kayak in Blue Moose Cove in Glacier Bay National Park while shooting my book on the park. My assistant and friend, Brian, was paddling while I was shooting.This bear was coming for us down the beach. Brian assured me the bear would not jump in the water after us and if he did we could out-paddle a swimming bear. Brian was right – the bear came to the edge of water, stomped its feet and woofed at us but did not go swimming. Latter we followed this bear around and it went swimming to get around a cliff. We were much faster in the water than the bear. This image illustrates the cover of my 2009 Southeast Alaska Calendar.Nikon F5, Lens: 300mm f/4 Nikkor, Fuji Velvia slide film-Mark Kelley