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Wild Goose Island at Dawn

Sunrise at Lake St. Mary, Glacier National Park, Montana.
#Montana #landscapephotography #montanamoment
www.JeffSullivanPhotography.com

 
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27 thoughts on “Wild Goose Island at Dawn”

  7. Jeff Sullivan
    Reply

    +Shawn McClure I'm really lucky that it was not my last image. The small viewpoint was full with a photography workshop, so I asked if I could take this quick shot in front of them, then head down the hill to a different spot. I ran to get out of their view quickly, startling a huge male grizzly bear away from the service berry bush he had been feeding on. Two things you never do to a grizzly are startle them or give them the impression that you're challenging them for food! I saw his massive dark form and heard him crashing off through the brush about 50-70 yards. I froze and heard nothing, until his head popped up from where he was now standing behind the bush. He was pissed, frothing at the mouth, gnashing his teeth, and raking his plate-sized, knife-lined paws into the bush. Then he started making a huffing noise (which I later read was the last thing many bear attack survivors heard before being mauled. Fortunately the bear was directly behind the bush and didn't have a straight shot at me. I started backing slowly up the hill, calculating what clothing and gear I could drop to give the bear something to attach before reaching me if he came around the bush.

    I don't remember how I retraced the 100 yards or so back to the top, but I took some more photos from up there, figuring that I had much better odds near the crowd.

    Next time I'll definitely carry bear spray. I didn't think that I'd need it only steps from a major viewpoint! Live and learn.

  8. Shawn McClure
    Reply

    +Jeff Sullivan Heheh, wow. Having gotten out of it alive, it's an amazing experience, although if thing had gone differently it might have been a terminal experience. Nicely done on the diplomatic retreat… Those big bears can hide just meters away and the tourists (and photographers) never even know. 🙂 Cheers.

  10. Jeff Sullivan
    Reply

    +Shawn McClure Yes, it was a rare privilege to meet a grizzly bear at close range, even if neither of us was particularly enjoying it at the time.

    I had been told by a campground host that the bears weren't down at lake level yet since the berries weren't ripe enough. When I scouted the spot the day before I picked a few service berries on the way to the lake and said to myself, "They seem pretty ripe to me!"

    I'll be much quicker to put the evidence together on future visits, and hopefully my bear stories will all involve shots taken from a distance.

  11. Shawn McClure
    Reply

    +Jeff Sullivan Well said. I've had two, separate, very close bear encounters before, and each time my camera was out of reach (and mind) until I could get someplace a bit safer. But by then the photo opp was gone, of course. So I can't wait until I get a decent chance to safely photograph a "nearby" bear. 🙂

  12. Jeff Sullivan
    Reply

    +Shawn McClure Isn't that the truth, you're thrilled to get away alive, but you still experience regret at not having the camera handy and getting a shot! If only I had a GoPro running or smartphone handy, that bear would have been a YouTube star. I'm sure not going to do anything to repeat the circumstances though.

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