Leaving Nanaimo at 6.00 am on Friday 8 November for what would prove to be the last bear photography workshop for this year, I must admit to some trepidation as the weather forecast was not really that great, and I anticipated a rather wet and gloomy day on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The drive over did little to allay my fears as we encountered some quite dense mist over the central island area.

As it happens I need not have worried too much, we arrived exactly at low tide, the sun came out, and 10 minutes later a workshop member spotted the first bear approaching.

Black Bear (Ursus americanus) in salmon stream during salmon run,, Thornton Fish Hatchery, Ucluelet , British Columbia, Canada

Nikon D3, 500mm f4 lens, 1/250th @ f 5.6 ISO 1600, Gitzo tripod, Wimberley head

We had a young bear visit the salmon run off and on all day, fishing the live salmon, and when that proved too difficult picking over the spent carcasses on the stream bank. Normally I expect to see a larger number of bears at this location but have never, in around 20 visits, failed to see a single bear! At least this youngster kept my record intact.

Black Bear (Ursus americanus) in salmon stream during salmon run,, Thornton Fish Hatchery, Ucluelet , British Columbia, Canada

Nikon D3, 200-400mm f4 zoom lens at 340mm, 1/800th @ f 4 ISO 1000, Gitzo tripod, Wimberley head

To see a great selection of images by workshop participant Conrad Olson take a look at his Flikr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/conradolson/sets/72157637530170386/

Due to the fact that the salmon run seems to be coming to a premature close this year I will not be running the bear trip on 28th November. Watch out for dates for 2014.

Rainbow over forest during sudden storm, Nr. Port Alberni , British Columbia, Canada

Nikon D3, 200-400mm f4 zoom lens at 400mm, 1/1600th @ f 4 ISO 500, hand held