Many of those who follow me will remember my now infamous encounter last year with a grizzly bear in Banff National Park. I was fortunate to walk away from that meeting. On that same trip, we encountered quite a number of bears, including this black bear that seems to be right next to me. I am happy to report that, unlike my meeting with the grizzly, this black bear was pretty far away. I captured him with a focal length of 550mm, which for me is a much safer distance from a wild bear.
If you are into wildlife and you are planning to visit Banff, head there in June. The wildlife is plentiful and they are just coming out from the winter snows. If you are real lucky, you might find some babies along with their mothers (be careful not to get too close when there are babies around). An added bonus is that the mountains have a lot of snow that give a much different look than in the later summer. It has become my favorite time of year to visit my favorite place in the world (so far). If you can't make it in June, don't get discouraged, Banff is always awesome any time of the year.