Every once in a while all the pieces of my wildlife filmmaking come together beautifully and I’m filled with awe and gratitude for what unfolds before me. For me filming intimate and rare footage of grizzly bears in the wild is at the top of my list for wildlife subjects. Words really can’t describe what I experienced here as these powerful and beautiful beasts foraged closer and closer to where I was crouched by some bushes. To go undetected by grizzlies at close range is no accident as I do all I can to eliminate my scent from my body and clothes and to be totally silent. If you don’t want to encounter bears at close range do the opposite of what I do. There was hordes of mosquitoes everywhere and they feasted freely on me, however I dared not brush them away which might alert the bears. Interesting thing, I hardly felt their many bites as I was so focused on adjusting the camera settings, framing and with my adrenaline flowing. My bended knee broke a tiny stick in the grass and made a slight sound which finally caught the male grizzly’s attention. /LEON LORENZ
