"Black Bear" by Derek, 17 | The Pioneers

"We were driving back from our day on the river, and Chris spotted the bear cub. We started taking pictures from the van, and the bear seemed calm, so we got out to get better shots. I was pretty scared because I thought mama may be close. When I got out of the van, I made the grunting noise that a mama bear would use to comfort it's cub, and when I did that, the bear turned and looked at me and I got the shot. I was shaking the whole time!!"

About Derek: "My name is Derek. I am 17 years old and I am from Superior, Wisconsin. I have been through a lot in life with my family and friends. I have had a lot of problems with substance abuse, but I am turning things around thanks to Northwest Passage. My dream is to be an underwater welder when I get older. For me, nature photography is a way to get away from all my problems. It was something I didn't really know about or care about when I came here, but the more I worked at it, the more I turned out to love it. Now it's my passion."