I have watched many movies and documentaries on the majestic Grizzly Bear. I have seen grizzlies in “real life,” but behind the walls of an enclosure in the Canadian Pavilion at the Metro Toronto Zoo, but nothing, and I mean nothing, can compare to the first Grizzly Bear sighting in the wild; in its natural habitat! For many years I had been happily photographing people, places things, and events, until one day, a friend and fellow photographer, Claudio Bacinello (Photographic Visions: https://photographicvisions.ca/about/) suggested I might like to try wildlife photography! Claudio, had recently travelled to Tsylos Park Lodge (https://www.tsylos.com/) in Chilcotin, British Columbia to photograph grizzly bear. After seeing his photos, I knew I had to do the same, so that is just what I did.
I remember well that first misty morning at the lodge. Myself, along with 2 other photographers loaded our camera equipment onto an aluminum sled boat and together with our Guide, headed out on the Chilko River in search of bears. I cannot even attempt to describe the anticipation and excitement I felt. It did not take long before, spotted in the distance, were two grizzly bear cubs! It brought me to tears – of complete and utter JOY!! I was so entranced with the vision that I almost forgot to pick up my camera and capture the beauty and magic of unpretentious innocence shared between the two!
I have been photographing Grizzly Bears for a number of years now and let me tell you, it never gets old! In fact, it just gets better, especially when I able to return to the same place – Tsylos Park Lodge – and witness the ever changing lives of the Grizzly Bears that call Chilcotin home – returning there every spring. In an upcoming blog, I will tell you about Casper, a blonde sow who was friendly and actually seemed to ham it up for the camera – hence the name! Let me just say, in just a couple of years, I watched Casper go from a silly cub to becoming a mother of her own beautiful girl, we named Honey!! Stay tuned.
Although I now almost exclusively “shoot” wildlife of all kinds – creatures great and small, my heart still belongs to my Grizzly friends!
