This is my eleventh year of coming to Alaska to photograph the bears. and each visit brings new adventures, new bears and new images. This year is no exception. I am joined by a group of enthusiastic adventurers who have been treated to several bear sightings. Here are just a few images from the last two days…

We didn’t have to go far to find this beautiful blond bear as she was on the beach in front of the lodge

I was surprised at how fat this big guy is so early in the spring. It didn’t take long to see how he had gained so much weight as he simply gorged on eel grass for a good thirty minutes while we photographed him

Spring time brings fresh vegetation to the land and the bears enjoy the fresh greens

We were treated to a bear from an island across the bay

In addition to the sedges and the new vegetation, the bears love clams and come to the tidal flats to clam when the tide is low. This sow was perfectly content to clam while we trained out lenses on her

Tomorrow is another day with many more bear opportunities.

Images captured with Nikon D3s, AF-S 600mm f4 VR, TC-14-E II or TC-17E II on Lexar Digital Media.