Ordinarily, point and shoot cameras aren't employed for wildlife photography. That was not the case this time. Although I had my Nikon DSLR with me, I opted to use my little Panasonic TZ5, both because it sported a long zoom. I didn't have to walk far to find this bear. It was quite close to the Glacier Point road and seemed unconcerned by my presence. When it slowly wandered away from the road, I followed it for a while.

NOTE: There have been a couple of comments about my close proximity to the bear, based on the exif data showing I employed a 47mm lens. That's 47mm on my digicam, rather than 47m on a DSLR. That focal length on a digicam, coupled with some electronic wizardry that cuts down the megapixels to give even more visual reach, is akin to using a DSLR with a very powerful telephoto lens.

I was a lot closer, though, than most people are willing to come. And long ago, in the dark, for several seconds, my nose was within six inches of the nose of a bear, but that's another story without a photograph. That night left me, though, without much fear - although a lot of respect - for these wonderful denizens of the American forest. See the next image for what can be done with a DSLR and 200mm on a zoom lens.