Young grizzly bear scratches on a balsam poplar tree in Denali National Park. Canon 5D Mark III, 500mm f/4L IS, 1/500 sec @ f/8, ISO 200
The lime green tundra and newly budding leafs of a poplar tree along the Denali Park road are tell-tale signs of spring. This young grizzly bear takes a break from foraging on the new grass shoots and vegetation along the roadside by scratching its back on the bark of a balsam poplar tree on a sunny morning. I had been watching the bear for a while as it napped, ate, and napped some more, until it woke up and sauntered down the park road. When I saw it pause at this tree, I grabbed my 500mm and poked out of my sun roof in time to grab a few frames of the bear scratching, which it did for just a moment. I’ve seen enough bears do this before that when I saw it sniffing the tree I was alert to the chance. Even so, it happens fast and in a perfect world I may have composed slightly differently if I had a bit more time.
At approximately 10:30 in the morning, the sun is already getting pretty bright for photography, but back lighting still works well in this case, and perhaps is the preferred type of lighting given the circumstances.
Wow, This shot is awesome. How long did you have to wait to get this capture?
Were you just waiting undercover somewhere or merely driving by?
This photo would look awesome enlarged.
Great shot! I very much enjoy the colors and lighting, the green tundra and young leaves are so recognizable. Like you said Patrick, Denali’s full of them these days – spring is finally here! How far did you go into the park? Does your photo permit give you ‘unlimited’ access?
Inge, The photo permit allows access throughout the park road, the same areas that the buses travel. I took this photo between Eielson and Wonderlake.
Patrick, Nice image! A lot different than the grizzly-scratching-on-bear-area-warning-sign image so many of us have added to our files over the decades. Your image proves that grizzlies do scratch their backs on somehing other than man-made and government placed signposts! But on another note…are you expecting to replace your 500 Mk I with a Mk II? I’m on the pre-order list at B&H, but no sign of movement yet. Cheers!
Jim
Jim, I’m very keen to get the next version of the 500! Except the price tag.
Mike,
Shots like these are generally serendipitous, or at least fleeting moments. I was watching the bear for some time, in plain view of the bear.