I took these pictures on Saturday, the day before I shot my bear.
Saw this old girl feeding 400 yards off, so I stalked up close. I think at about 50 yards the old gal saw me move and she ran into the timber. I thought maybe my chance to get pictures was done...
But the cubs lit up into a spruce as soon as they got into the timber and of course the sow pulled up at the foot of the tree that her cubs were in. So I knew I had a chance to get some good pics.
I worked my way towards the sow, stopping often and always gauging her attitude. There was never a moment when she was belligerent; never any body language that threatened me. So I ened up getting to ~25 yards.
In this pic the sow is at the base of the tree. She has just put them up the tree.
In this pic one cub can be seen in the tree; they were maybe 15 lbs...
This pic is right after she put the cubs up the tree and turned to assess the threat (me).
The last pic I took at 25 yds. I figured this was good enough and left the old gal alone with her cubs.