Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska – Image 2714

This image shows what a coastal brown bear is suppose to look like…big round dish face, long claws, and big shoulder humps. I photographed this bear from a kayak with my assistant, Brien. While this bear was approaching in a very forceful manner, Brien and I were having a conversation about if this bear was coming for us. I thought we ought to back off a little bit, but Brien insisted we stay put. He said that this bear was not going to jump in and swim for us. He was in control of the kayak so I just kept photographing. Brien was correct. The bear came right up to the shoreline, looked at us and displayed it displeasure by stumping its front feet and woofing at us. But, it did not come in after us. We followed this bear along the shoreline, and eventually it jumped in the water. It had to swim pass a cliff dropping into the sea. By paddling along with the bear at a distance, we learned we could paddle our canoe much faster than this bear could swim (especially with the correct motivation like a swimming attacking bear). This image appears on page 66 in my book “Glacier Bay National Park: Alaska.” Enjoy the photo and thanks for visiting. Once again as a reminder, I will be leading a small boat photo cruise in Glacier Bay National Park this coming summer with Dolphin Charters (www.dolphincharters.com), July 6-12, 2011. Come join me for a week-long cruise in the bay exploring Alaska.Camera body: F5, Lens: Nikkor 300mm f/4 Film: 35mm Velvia, ASA 50, digitally scanned © Mark Kelley