A male brown bear, Ursus arctos, approaches up river, fishing for spawning sockeye salmon, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

I thought I’d post another image from our Katmai brown bear photo tour last fall. I’ve shot this bear for so many years now; it’s awesome to go back and revisit these bears year to year, particularly the bears that are so great to photograph as this one.

When I first started photographing this bear, he was a young subadult, just out on his own. He’s nearly doubled in size over the last few years, and now is a good size bear, though still has a number of pounds to gain before he reaches his full size.

One thing that becomes so readily apparent when photographing bears is how truly individual they are. They can be as different from one to another as we are. Some bears will walk right on by, fishing and wandering the river, with little more than a sideways glance at us, while others wont’ come close at all, and seem to always keep an eye on people around the area.

This means a lot when it comes to things like how to act in bear country; it means the generalized ‘protocols’ that we read about and hear are, while valuable, not set in stone. It’s more important to pay attention to the bear, and to closely watch the bear’s signals. than to think about some line in a book at that said “In situation A, you should do B”; hard and fast rules rarely hold true, but never more so, perhaps, than when dealing with 1000lb+ predators.

Good bear sense means knowing bear behavior, and paying attention more than remember guidelines.

I stress this kinda of thing in all my safety talks, whether it’s for photo tours to places like Katmai National Park, where the brown bear population density is as high as anywhere, or backcountry backpacking trips in the arctic and the alpine mountains, where bears are fewer and further between. Being attentive and attuned to the surroundings, to the environment, is how to conduct yourself in the wilderness; and where there are brown bears, it’s wilderness. So pay attention.

…. and remember to focus on the eye!

Cheers

Carl

PS, Be sure to have a  look at the Coastal Brown Bears Photo Tour.

Brown bear, Ursus arctos, walking upright down Brooks Lake near the footbridge, first light of a cool, foggy morning. Brown bear, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Just back from a fantastic 2 weeks in Katmai National Park on our Grizzly Bears in the Fall Photo Tour. What a great way to wind up the season!

This year we had a challenging but rewarding trip; there were definitely fewer bears than in some recent years (still more than 45 bears along the river), but some great weather, light and conditions helped us to all make some nice images.

This photo I have to say a big thank you to one of the folks on week #2, Chris, a Brit now living in San Diego. I was loaded down with my 500mm and D300s on my tripod, and my D700 and 70-300m over my shoulder. We had moved off the river a little to give a passing bear some room, when this scene appeared behind us. Trying to stumble thru 4′ tall grass, hummocks and tussocks and wet marsh without busting my tail was a bit of a mission, and Chris kindly offered to hold my 500mm for me, so I could step over the ground easier and snag a shot before it was too late. Thanks Chris, I appreciate it.

I’d hoped to shoot a few more “bears in the landscape” type of photos this year, rather than concentrate on the closeup portraits I’d worked on in years past. I still really like those ‘in-your-face’ types shots of really big boars, they’ll also excite me; just looking thru a big telephoto lens and seeing the viewfinder fill with a massive grizzly bear up close and personal is always a treat. But the wider angle view can be a great and dynamic shot too. It’s impossible to make both at the same time, however, so making that choice of which to shoot is critical.

All in all, this was yet another great trip. I’d really like to thank everyone for making it such a great 2 weeks, and Jule, our camp magician, who turned ingredients into delicious meals 3 times a day, and most especially, the bears, whose patience and grandeur make it so worthwhile to visit this special place. Thanks all.

If you’re interested in next year’s Grizzly Bears in the Fall Photo Tour, please drop me a line; group size is limited and the trips inevitably fill quickly. This is one photo tour you’ll remember forever.

Cheers

Carl

4 grizzly bear (brown bear, Ursus arctos) cubs sit in the forest, and await there mother's return. Grizzly bear cubs, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Heading off for 2 weeks in Katmai National Park for the grizzly bear fall photo tour. Hopefully we’ll run into these 4 youngsters again, though it’d be most surprising if all 4 cubs made it through last winter; I sure hope so, but the ways of the wild aren’t always aligned with our hopes. Their mom turned herself inside out last fall feeding these hungry bear cubs, so we’ll see how things went for them.

See you folks back in October.

Cheers

Carl

A female brown bear (grizzly bear, Ursus arctos) chases Sockeye Salmon up Brooks River. Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Wow, another month has passed by already! So here’s the Image of the Month for November, 2010. No surprises for what kind of photo would be posted this month; after 2 weeks of virtually nonstop grizzly bear photography at the end of September, I could do a whole year of Images of the Month with nothing but bear photos.

So, speaking of bear photos, I might just add that I’ve updated the 2 bear galleries on the website, as I undertake a major overhaul of all the photo galleries here. Tedious work, but they’re such a schemozzle I know I need to do it. (and, I really wanted to use the word “schemozzle” in a blog post). So, take a look at the new galleries .. virtually all new images posted, with larger photos, too. Here’s the Bears #1 gallery, and here is the Bears #2 gallery. I hope you enjoy some of the images. Oh, and I also added the dates for the 2011 bear photo tour.

So, back to this image; just a nice low angle on a sow racing through the water, splashing her way after some luckless Sockeye salmon. I’m glad I’m not a 5lb fish meeting a 800lb bear!

Hope you like it folks.

Cheers

Carl

An adult grizzly bear standing, back turned, mouth open, in long grass, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click the image to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a photo that might be of interest to photography fans here. To me, this photo expresses what nature photography is all about; shooting, re-shooting, shooting some more, time and again, and doing everything you can to ‘get that shot’, and still coming home empty handed. How so?

One of the photos I REALLY want is a big ole grizzly bear standing upright, with a nice background. So far, I’ve not yet made that image. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a few opportunities, and unfortunate enough to blow every single one of them.

To catch a nice, full-frame shot of a bear standing upright means anticipation, as well as luck. More often than not, when I’ve been close enough to make a shot like this, I’m shooting with the camera/lens in a horizontal position, and when the bear stands, I can’t fit it all in the frame. It’s simply too easy to miss this kind of shot and too hard to actually nail it.

Adult bears rarely stand upright, and when they do, they don’t do it for very long. Generally the behavior is a ‘look around’; something alarms the bear and they stand up to get a better view, sniff the air, and see whether they need to flee, or ignore the potential danger. A few seconds is all they stand for, most of the time, and they drop back to all fours. That means to make the photo, the photographer has to be in position and ready for the shot ahead of time; there simply isn’t time to switch the camera/lens to a vertical position and shoot – well, I should say RARELY is there time to switch. Sometimes it happens, but not often.

So, with this particular instance, I was ready. I was leading the Bears in the Fall photo tour, and we’d been photographing this bear, when I noticed a commotion in the background. Another bear, a large dominant boar, was chasing a younger bear, trying to steal it’s catch of Sockeye salmon. This attracted the attention of a number of bears in the area, and all fled the scene. Literally, 7 bears took off every which way, racing through toward the forest.

As amazing as it was to see this, I turned back to this particular bear immediately, because I suspected she’d do exactly this; rise up and look around. I suggested to the group that we get ready for her to stand up, and I’m pretty sure everyone switched to vertical.

She stood for a few seconds, and I made (I think) 3 images. Now, had I happened to be on the other side of her, I might have just made that perfect photo (notwithstanding the fact that I’d probably have been run over by a stampede of grizzly bears). Or, had she turned, just for a moment, and held this pose facing me. But, she didn’t. She briefly observed the commotion, dropped back down to the ground, and resumed watching the nearby stream for fish.

So, as hard as we worked, and as many hours as we put in, and anticipated everything, etc, etc, we still came away without ‘that shot’ that I really want. Close, though. I mean, she’s a massive bear, had her mouth open, claws out and forelegs wide, and the spruce and birch trees in the distance give a nice soft, out of focus yet defined background that say ‘wild’. All she had to do was turn around.

And maybe, if I do everything right, just maybe the Great Bear Who Walks Like a Man (or is it we who walk like the bear?) will one day give me that photo. Nature photography lies, after all, in the hands of nature as much as it does the photographer. Sometimes nature simply doesn’t want its photo taken, regardless how hard we try to make it happen. So, maybe next time, right? I’ll go back next year, in 2011, and try again. And again. Until then, I’ll edit what I got, and get back to work.

Cheers

Carl

Grizzly bear rubbing on a tree, Katmai National Park, Alaska. Please click on the photo for a larger version.

Hey Folks

Welcome to April! The Image of the Month for this month is a grizzly bear rubbing his head on a tree. I photographed this bear sleeping not long before I took this photo, and after he woke up, he strolled directly over to this small Black Cottonwood tree, and rubbed and scratched on it for quite some time. I got a few photos of him standing at full height, which is an impressive sight for a bear this size. I’d estimate him to be well over 9′ tall.

April is the month the bears typically will be waking up from their long winter hibernation, and start moving around again. Won’t be long before my sojourns into the woods will again require my can of bear spray in my pocket. This bear had just awoken, so I thought it might be a good photo of the month for April for that reason.

Bear hibernation is a pretty amazing phenomena. No other animal anywhere near the size of the grizzly can sleep an entire winter away, living off it’s fat reserves, stored up from a summer of eating. Some folks argue that grizzlies (and black bears) aren’t true hibernators, because they actually wake up during the winter, and their body temperatures don’t reach down to the temperatures of other (what we call) “true hibernators”, like the Arctic Ground Squirrel, etc. Other people contend that given it’s size and mass, the grizzly is probably the greatest hibernator on the planet.

However we refer to it, I’m not sure the grizzly cares.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

I’ve been crazy busy trying to get the website overhauled – I hope you enjoy the new design. Fortunately, I’m a better photographer and backcountry guide than I am web coder!

Here’s a video I shot in Katmai National Park and Preserve, of a family a bears fishing in Brooks River while another young bear wanders around the scene – the young cubs get a little distraught, but ole mom is pretty undisturbed about it all. If you’re not a member of Facebook and can’t see the video, you can view the video on Youtube here.

Anyway, I thought I’d post this here just to keep in touch, and look forward to our Grizzly Bears in the Fall phototour coming in 2010. I’ve just added that html page, so be sure to check it out. I have 2 slide shows on there of new grizzly bear photos.

Cheers

Carl

A grizzly bear charges up the river chasing spawning Sockeye Salmon, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

NB: I’ve now added this trip to our regular webpages. By all means, browse this page, but also visit the page listed under ‘Phototours’ on the Trips section of the website. That page can be found here.

This coming year, 2010, I’m super excited to offer a new phototour to Katmai National Park and Preserve; we’ll be basecamping in remote southwest Alaska, photographing grizzly bears, dawn til dusk, for a week. Katmai National Park is home to some of the largest grizzly bears (or “brown bears” as they’re often called in that region) in the world. Feeding largely on salmon from some of the richest salmon runs in Alaska, the bears are magnificent creatures and there’s no better time to photograph them than in the fall. This trip offers an unsurpassed opportunity to photograph wild grizzly bears in a remote and brilliantly wild setting and promises some simply incredible photographic possibilities.

Schedule:

– Trip #1: Sept 19-25, 2010.

– Trip #2: Sept 26 – Oct 2, 2010

Price:

– Fully Outfitted Camp and Guided Photo Tour: $2675.00

-  Both trips (14 days): $4600.00

Trip Includes:

• Small, discreet, photography tour (5 clients max.)
• Fully outfitted; comfortable camping w/ electric fence
• All food and camping gear
• 7 days; 5 complete days shooting
• 100% safety-first protocols
• Peak fall colors and classic Alaskan scenery
• High population density of grizzly bears
• Experienced, knowledgeable, professional guide
• Certified Wilderness First Responder trained guide
• National Park Service permitted & licensed company
• Local Alaskan owner-operated business
• Satellite Phone for emergency use
• Return Charter Flight from King Salmon to our camp.

For more information or to make a booking, either please send a direct email to carl@alaskanalpinetreks.com or use this Contact Form.

The Location:

The Katmai area was declared a National Monument in 1918, and in 1980 the boundaries were greatly extended and the region declared a National Park and Preserve. At 4.2 million acres it stands a sizable chunk of land set aside for the preservation of an amazing abundance of wildlife, sovereign of which is the grand old Grizzly bear.

Katmai National Park and Preserve lies southwest of Anchorage on the Alaskan Peninsula, and is arguably the greatest grizzly bear viewing and photography location in the world. The prodigious salmon runs attract and support a grizzly bear population density that is among the highest in the world. It’s also among the safest place to photograph wild grizzly bears, given their plentiful food sources and tolerance of human presence; the bears are generally extremely tolerant of people, and this combined with the high bear population (approx 100 bears in the area in Sept 2009) makes it possible to shoot literally thousands of photos in a few short days. The beauty of a fall trip is that we get the place largely to ourselves; in 2009, over 2 weeks, there were no other photographers in the area the entire time.

A grizzly bear stands beside the river, fall color behind him, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

The Bears:

Bear population density in the area increases dramatically in the fall as food sources concentrate. Nearly 100 bears were in the area fall 2009. Due to the very high number of young females in the area, it is expected that 2010 will be a great year for sows and cubs in this area, which are always a treat to photograph. We’ll have the opportunity to photograph bears of all sizes, from massive 1000 pound boars to tiny young spring cubs: walking, running, fighting, playing, fishing, napping, climbing, swimming, etc, etc.

As fall winds up, the bears look better and better; their coats fill out, the bears fatten up and lose their shaggy, lean summer look. Some males will gain as much as 500lbs in a few short months gorging on rich Sockeye Salmon (also known as red salmon) and Coho Salmon (silver salmon). The vibrant peak fall color of the transitional boreal forest provide a backdrop as photogenic as any; photography in the fall here simply can’t be beaten.

There are often various other species of animals in the area, including mink, fox, wolf, lynx, least weasel, occasionally moose, and a variety of birds, including 3 species of gulls, magpie, bald eagle, Common mergansers. However, our concentration will be on grizzly bears in the prime time of their yearly cycle. All you have to worry about is photographing the great bears, from sunup to sundown.

A young grizzly bear takes a sip from the stream, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Safety:

Your and the bears’ safety is paramount, and we maintain a “safety-first” standard at all times. We go through a thorough safety talk before the trip, and closely adhere to the most current protocols on safe travel in bear country. Safety-first means caution, it means responsibility and it requires an excellent knowledge of the area: the terrain, wildlife, backcountry camping, etc. Your guide is also a certified Wilderness First Responder. We make a concerted effort to not harass and/or disturb the wildlife. A smaller group size not only ensures you the photography opportunities you need but also that our group doesn’t bother the bears. We understand the difference between nature photographers and the paparazzi, and will neither approach too closely nor stay too long. Respect for the subject is absolute.

Group Size:

By keeping our group size small, your trip remains about you and your photographic experience with the bears. Group size is restricted to 5 participants; exceptions will only be considered on a case by case basis. We think group size is a critical part of the experience, and don’t like to see hordes of photographers bunched around a subject, crowding and pushing for photos.

Schedule:

In order that we maximize your time in the park, we will meet in King Salmon, Alaska, and take a charter flight from there to our camp before lunchtime (as such, it is best if you schedule your arrival in King Salmon the day before our trip begins). We’ll get a chance to shoot the first afternoon and evening, then have 5 more full days of shooting, before our final night in camp. We then have a few hours to shoot in the morning before a midday charter flight back to King Salmon. It’s only a little more than a one hour commercial flight from King Salmon to Anchorage, so most folks can be back in Anchorage that evening if they wish.

A rear view of a grizzly bear, prostrate on the ground, napping. Katmai National Park and preserve, Alaska.

Outfitting:

Alaskan Alpine Treks provide high quality, comfortable tents with an electric fence around the campsite. This trip will be outfitted completely, all camping gear other than your personal gear (sleeping bag, clothes, etc) will be furnished; we take care of food and shelter, with our own camp cook. We have solid, secure gear and food caches, plus weather-protected wooden shelters for inside dining in wet weather; even in harsh weather the camping is more than comfortable. If you need assistance with any gear, please don’t hesitate to ask. We carry a satellite phone, as well as both First Aid and Basic Life Support kits.

Guide:

With 10 years of experience photographing Grizzly bears and many trips to Katmai National Park, as well as guiding extended remote wilderness backpacking trips, Alaskan Alpine Treks owner Carl Donohue works impossibly hard to ensure trip participants have a safe trip and a fantastic experience. The advantages of being a local Alaska business include knowledge of the place; the relationships of the history, the geography and ecology of the area, promising trip participants a fascinating adventure. We offer a first rate trip because we keep it small and we maintain the utmost respect for the places we visit; this translates to an unforgettable photo tour that we’re more than sure you’ll absolutely love. You can read more about Carl and Alaskan Alpine Treks on the About Us page of this website.

The Photography:

This trip is perfect for the intermediate to advanced or professional photographer looking for a small group to join for a week of concentrated grizzly bear photography. The photography requires some walking, so being in reasonable shape is important. Special attention is given to capturing unique and creative grizzly bear photos, so we make the extra effort to put ourselves in the best spots to shoot from. By camping on site, we’re able to be in place to photograph during the best light, rather than on a boat or in a lodge. Meals will be scheduled around our photography, ensuring we don’t miss any great light or bear action.

Carrying long telephoto lenses, plus other camera gear, we’ll walk several miles each day, but it is hard work – you’ll be tired at the end of a long day, and ready for some great food and good times by the campfire. Chest waders are necessary, for both safety and optimal photography opportunities – we (and the bears) spend a good deal of time in the water. 2 camera bodies are optimal, and you’ll also want to bring plenty of extra batteries, memory cards (or film), backup storage, warm clothing, rain gear, and a range of lens choices, from wide to telephotos. All that and a bundle of enthusiasm will make your trip a memorable and successful one.

Thank you,

Carl Donohue,
Owner, Alaskan Alpine Treks.

Click the thumbnail below to view the rest of the slide show:

A backlit grizzly bear feeds on Sockeye Salmon, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

For more information or to make a booking, either please send a direct email to carl@alaskanalpinetreks.com or use this Contact Form.

A grizzly bear chases Sockeye Salmon through a stream, Katmai National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Well, the season has wound up tight, and I’m slowly getting back in to ‘office-mode‘ for the winter. I’ll try to write a ‘summer backpacking wrap’ before too long, with some notes from the various trips we had this year. In the meantime, I’d like to mention a trip I’m planning for next year, 2010, that I’m WAAAAYYYYY excited about. I’ll be leading a photo tour to Katmai National Park in the fall, after the backpacking season. We’ll basecamp in Katmai National Park for a week, and photograph grizzly bears, also known as ‘brown bears’ in that particular region, all day long. For those of you unfamiliar with Katmai National Park, the region is home to the greatest population density of grizzly bears anywhere, and also some of the largest bears in the world. The bears feed much of the summer on spawning Sockeye and Silver Salmon, and images such as the above, with a bear charging through a stream, splashing up water as it races after the fleeing salmon, are just one of the fantastic photo opportunities that Katmai National Park holds the patient and hard-working photographer. There’s simply nothing like it anywhere else in the world.

This photo tour is something I’ve wanted to do for a while now, and I’m super excited about the trip. There’s nothing quite like being in the realm of the grizzly bear, and the opportunity to simply observe and be around the bears is worth the time and effort alone; and the photo opportunities are without par. Katmai National Park is a real treat for the wildlife photographer, so this is sure to be a great time. It’ll be a small group, no more than 4 or 5 photographers, we’ll outfit the camping gear, or you can bring your own, we’ll handle all the food, or you can bring your own; you have to bring yourself, your camera gear, clothing (more on this later), and the rest is up to the weather-Gods.

Another thing that makes this trip a treat is the time of year – we’ll be aiming for peak fall color season, giving us the chance to make some images simply impossible to do the rest of the year. The bears look better this time of year, being bigger (as much as a third to a half again heavier), with much fuller coats as they get ready to den for the winter. I haven’t posted the trip to the site in the Trip pages yet, but that’ll be coming soon, as the office-mode takes place. The photo tour will be late September; bring your fleece jacket and hat, chest waders, a telephoto lens and a boat load of camera batteries and CF cards. I’ll write some more about this as I get everything else caught up.

Use the Contact Form to reach me for more information.

Cheers

Carl