Black bear 'poses' for photographer for Kittanning and Pittsburgh Mills exhibits

Yes, Joyce Shellhammer likes nature and to photograph it. But talk about serendipity: A rather large black bear stumbled into her Parks Township yard earlier this month to make off with her bird suet feeder.

That photo and others of local wildlife, landscapes and the sky will be featured in her exhibition, “A Walk Through Nature,” at the Kittanning Public Library for the month of September, along with a new display at the New Kensington Camera Club gallery at the Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer.

On Aug. 15, after a black bear first appeared in her yard, Shellhammer’s boyfriend investigated and said, “He’s still out there.” The estimated 300-to-350 pound bruin was likely a bear passing through, she thought. But apparently he was hungry.

Then she saw the bear again in her backyard the same day after it took the suet and thought, “Why not get a photo?” which became, “Why not open the back door to get a better photo?”

As Shellhammer opened the door, the bear stood on its hind legs to investigate another bird feeder.

“I didn’t want him to get it and I said, ‘leave now,’ ” she said. The wild animal complied and, luckily, Shellhammer was able to take some great photos.

She’s been photographing since she was the official “family picture taker” starting at the age of 10. “I never took the initiative to learn how to be an actual photographer, learning all the skills it took to do more than just snap a photograph,” Shellhammer said.

It took turning 50 years old and after raising four daughters that Shellhammer allowed herself to take the time to really focus on the techniques of photography.

Joel Varga, president of the New Kensington Camera Club, calls Shellhammer “Snow White” and “the bird whisperer.”

“She seems to attract birds and animals to her camera,” he said. “She has a gift. … She got a close-up of a bear!”

Since Shellhammer works as a clerical assistant pulling the night shift, she has time to shoot photos in the daytime. Her favorite haunts are Crooked Creek in Bethel, the Allegheny River in Kittanning, the Roaring Run and Rock Furnace trails in Kiski and other Alle-Kiski Valley destinations.