Taken in eastern North Carolina over Thanksgiving weekend
Nikon D850 + 500PF ED f5.6 @ f6.3 * 1/125sec * ISO1000

Nice one.

How far away were you? Those things can run at 30mph

Beautiful image! Love the raised paw mid-step, and the breath coming out of its nostrils! If that was my shot, I'm pretty sure I'd make a good sized print.

Nice shot!
That bear looks quite lean for this time of year?

Nice shot. Looks like you were lying down when you took this one. That's one way to get a bear's attention

That is amazing, what a shot!

Nice ! The photo looks a little too light, but it may just be my screen -- in any case it's a really good photo.

Steve Roter said:

Nice one.

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Thank you!

Patrick M said:

How far away were you? Those things can run at 30mph

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This one popped out and onto the road a little closer than usual. I was there with 3 other people, but it was about 25yds away I would say. We had to get up, back up 20yds and get back down 2-3 times before it found the little path it wanted to take into the woods.

MikeJ said:

Beautiful image! Love the raised paw mid-step, and the breath coming out of its nostrils! If that was my shot, I'm pretty sure I'd make a good sized print.

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Thank you! This turned out to be one of my favorite bear shots I've taken and I definitely plan on printing this one. It is basically the full D850 frame I just had to downsize it to get it on here.

Woody Meristem said:

Nice ! The photo looks a little too light, but it may just be my screen -- in any case it's a really good photo.

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Thanks! I'm still playing around with the processing. I'm never 100% happy lol. And I change it a lot.

Bill Schone said:

That is amazing, what a shot!

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Thank you!

NorthernFocus said:

Nice shot. Looks like you were lying down when you took this one. That's one way to get a bear's attention

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lol, yeah, but there were 4 of us there. 2 of us decided to lie down, one got on his knee and the 4th stayed standing. It was just a curious 2yr old bear that was trying (we found out a minute later) to get to its friend/sibling in the woods. They played for a few minutes and then disappeared.

KirstyM said:

Nice shot!
That bear looks quite lean for this time of year?

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I think its just the angle, plus this was part of a pair of cubs that I'm assuming got kicked out by mom over the summer, so right at almost 2 years old, are out on their own.

Nice shot. Hey, hey, not your average bear (photo composition)! Sorry, an old Yogi fan here Truly excellent composition and that breath steam is superb!

where in eastern n. carolina was this taken, I live in pittsboro, all i see here are coyotes

ChrisBCForum said:

where in eastern n. carolina was this taken, I live in pittsboro, all i see here are coyotes

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This was out in Washington County, but there are 2 refuges on that Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, that I've had good sightings at.

Very nice. How close did he/she come?

That definitely belongs on your wall. Outstanding!

Great shot! Nice composition and focus, the "steamy" breath from the nostrils really sets the mood of the image.

RichF said:

Very nice. How close did he/she come?

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Closest was about 15-20yds then me and the group would stand up tall, walk back, and lay/kneel down again.