In mid-may, Marian and I attended the Chas Glatzer “Shoot the Light” Workshop “Black Bears Plus” in Orr, Minnesota. Each year, Chas has special arrangements with the Vince Schute Bear Sanctuary to take a handful of photographers onto the property before it opens to the general public. Being part of that group, we had the opportunity to set our cameras at ground level in what seemed an enchanted forest.
We would set up each morning and afternoon when the light was hopefully the best…and wait…and watch…for the bears to come into the sanctuary from the surrounding wild.
And wow, it was worth the wait! Big beautiful males in black and cinnamon would stroll through the area.
And of course the prize we were all hoping for would be the Mama bears with their cubs. Not only did we witness many families of bears come through the site, but how can one not be touched by viewing cubs that were born in just the last few months…that actually are no taller than the spring grass…or bigger than the proverbial teddy bears we all know and love.
The wee bears would watch mom’s every move as she was their protector and mentor. One moment they are playing with each other like puppies. In another, just one glance or huff from Mom and the wee cubs would instantly climb to the very tops of trees swaying in the stormy breeze.
Often this meant a male bear was approaching which can mean big trouble for the cubs. Like many other mammals, the males will often kill the young cubs particularly if they are from a different bloodline.
At other times, it simply meant that mom wanted a moment’s peace and the cubs needed to get up the tree and not bother her until she called for them. Even,then the cautious young fur balls would hesitate until assured by mom that all was clear.
Being able to observe bear behavior in such an environment is a rare treat. We saw the bears eat, sleep, scent mark, climb up, stare down and more. And yes we did see a momma bear chase away a male deep into the woods away from her cubs . It was quite clear that the males knew that the queen momma bears were the toughest bears in the neighborhood.
Photo opportunities abounded. Of course, being mentored by the world class master photographer Chas Glatzer is an incredible experience in itself. Not only is Chas world renown, but he has conducted 56 bear workshops covering virtually every bear in the world-a true fountain of knowledge and an incredible instructor. Additionally, sharing the experience with other fine photographers was a wonderful learning experience.
So prestigious was the group that I think Marian and I were the only ones that had not been published, won international photography awards and had collections of their images on display in prestigious galleries. Nevertheless they all were genuinely helpful and nice people.
Chas’s incredible work can be found at his website www.shootthelight.com/ . There you will find more info on this and other fabulous workshops offered by Chas.
To see the rest of our collection from black bear country, simply go to http://blackpearl.smugmug.com/Favorites/Whats-New/Black-Bears/23780146_nB4Z3x#!i=1898612082&k=LRpjpfZ
Steve and Marian
