Lost Lake Trail, Chugach National Forest, Seward, Alaska.

This is a recent photo of the Lost Lake Trail is cutting through a section of forest that we have always referred to as the enchanted forest thanks in part to the cool witches hair hanging from the trees.

The waterfall featured in the movie Jurassic Park, Kauai, Hawaii.

“That is the stairway that Jack Black was filmed on in Mission Impossible” says the manager of a rooftop restaurant in Honolulu as he graciously blocked open a door to a fire escape to that I could go out on the roof for some photography.  And thus started a theme.  Everywhere we went in Hawaii there would be a reference to some show and movie having been filmed at the particular location we were visiting.  Like in this case, our pilot explained that this waterfall was featured prominently in Jurassic Park.

Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the Jack Black film, Jurassic Park or any of the other shows referenced so it didn’t mean much to me.  I understand the latest George Clooney movie The Descendants was filmed in and around Hanalei Bay in Kauai.  Hanalei Bay was one of my favorite parts of Hawaii – might be fun to see that film just for the chance to see Hanalei Bay again.  Then the next time I’m there, I could be the one saying ” Hey, I remember seeing this in the movie The Descendants!”

Photos from past Alaska bear tours.

I’m offering two Alaska bear photo tours next summer; my August tour is full and I only have two spots left for my June tour.  You can get all the details here:  Alaska bear photography tour.  If you haven’t been up close to these magnificent animals,  you are in for a real treat – an experience of a lifetime that you won’t forget!

Because of there popularity, lots of people are beginning to offer similar bear tours.  Often, it is people with little experience with Alaska or bears that are looking for a way to pay for a trip.  I do believe I have the best bear tour available and thought I would take a minute to point out the advantages – advantages that aren’t always obvious to someone shopping for a tour.  So here they are:

* I have lived in Alaska since 1976, and on the Alaska coast for the last 20 years. So when I offer advice on gear to bring, or places to visit before or after the tour, it is based on many, many years of actual Alaska outdoor experience.

* I started photographing wildlife in Alaska as a youngster 35 years ago and have been a full time photographer for over a decade. This is a great chance to ask questions and learn from someone who pretty much lives and breaths outdoor photography. This tour isn’t just a fun way to pay for an Alaska vacation – it is what I do for a living.

* We will be staying in nice, spacious, warm cabins and using a modern lodge with cell access and wifi. The food and accommodations are very nice for such a remote location, the lodge has a full time cook and a full time baker taking care of our food needs and often offering meals like fresh Alaska fish accompanied with a salad from the lodge gardens.  You won’t be staying four to a room at Brooks Lodge, in a tent, or on a boat dealing with Alaska’s oceans, where you have to board a small skiff with your valuable photo gear just to access the bears. We often see as many bears while back at the lodge as we do in the field – the photo opportunities are literally around the clock.  With Alaska’s challenging weather, you will appreciate a warm spacious lodge at the end of each day.

* This tour includes transportation to the lodge from Anchorage. As you compare photo tours beware as you may find many require an expensive flight to Kodiak or King Salmon that has not been included in the tour price.

* Lake Clark National Park doesn’t have the arbitrary bear viewing distances that you find in Katmai National Park. In Katmai, the regulations restrict you from approaching within 50 yards.  Even if the bear approaches you, Katmai does not allow “Continuing to occupy a position within 50 yards of a bear that is using a concentrated food source”.  On the Katmai National Park website they say “your chances of seeing bears are best when they gather to feed on seasonally concentrated food sources like salmon and sedge grasses.”  obviously the same time and places most Katmai bear tours are typically held.

In Lake Clark, even when we are accompanied by a Park Ranger, we can let the situation and the bears dictate the distance by using common sense and our experienced bear guide – and it is often less then 50 yards especially when the bear is approaching on its terms.  Seeing these beautiful animals up close is a big part of the thrill!

*  Besides myself, we are accompanied by a full time bear guide / naturalist who spends the entire summer with these bears.  The guide often has a biology background, and in most cases, has spent multiple summers with these bears.

*  I limit the number of guests to just 6.  Some tours bring 8 or more and I’m sure it is more lucrative, but I believe this is too many when photographing wildlife.  As the bears move to the left or right, if the group is too big you start getting into each others way.  I have found that a group of six makes cooperation easy and everyone can get the shot.

* We will visit one of the best places to photograph Horned and Tufted Puffin in Alaska short of an expensive trip to St. Paul on an optional boat trip.  Seeing these cool photogenic birds is a real bonus.  We can watch them from shore, with cameras and tripods for an excellent photo opportunity.

*  Repeat clients.  Three out of the four currently signed up for my June bear trip did other Alaska tours or workshops with me last year – half were actually on last years bear tour!

* The lodge owner grew up in Lake Clark area and was one of the first people in Alaska to offer bear viewing tours.  It has been a family run business since the 80′s, and they have been offering bear viewing for over 20 years.  They have been operating with a perfect safety record for almost 30 years. I don’t know of anyone who can come close to their experience offering bear viewing.  The owners of the lodge and their employees are some of the finest people you will meet.

If you have any more questions, you may find the answers at this link, or feel free to contact us directly.  Alaska bear photo tour.

Sunset at Ohe'o Gulch aka Seven Sacred Pools in Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii

Janine now has our website updated with our new photos from our Hawaii trip.  Here is our new section of Hawaii photos.  We also have new sections from Maui, Haleakala National Park, Kauai and Oahu / Honolulu.

I shared a similar photo to this awhile back.  I like the composition of that image a little better, but like the sky in this one better!

Sunset over Resurrection Bay, from Seward, Alaska.

This was a nice sunset in town from Tuesday night.  There has been a couple of humpbacks in the bay all week, but I wasn’t able to find them with this light.

It is a little hard to see in this smaller version, but there is a bit of a fata morgana mirage visible along the shoreline.  Here is a better example:  fata morgana mirage photo.

Aerial of waterfalls, Kauai, Hawaii.

So, we now have an entire new section on our website of Kauai, Hawaii photos.

Before we went to Hawaii, many people told us Kauai was their favorite island.  I’m glad it lived up to the expectations – it really is beautiful there!

Coast off Princeville, Kauai, Hawaii.

If our blog seems like a contrast lately as I jump between photos of Alaska winter and Hawaii, so does our life right now – living in a winter wonderland while working on photos and videos from a tropical wonderland!

Chugach National Forest, near Seward, Alaska.

Another recent image from our beautiful snowy winter!

Sunset from the infinity pool at the Sheraton Waikiki, Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii.

We now have a new section on our website of our Honolulu, Oahu photos.

Lost Lake Cabin, Chugach National Forest, Alaska.

This public use cabin looks funny in the summer because it is perched so high in the air.  Now, it is easy to see why!

This cabin was renovated last summer – looks great.  We have stayed here in the past during the winter – the view from here looking down on Resurrection Bay and Seward is spectacular!

Sunrise along the Lost Lake Trail, Chugach National Forest, Alaska.

I love to run in these hills and usually try to go twice a week in the summer and once a week in the winter.  I usually leave my camera behind and just enjoy the exercise and experience – but every now and then I bring along my camera and tripod like I did last Friday morning.  I headed up about an hour before sunrise – it was sure a beautiful morning!

Seward Boat Harbor, Seward, Alaska.

This was yesterday morning (10:00 a.m.) as the storm began to clear.  This area is a beehive of activity in the summer.  Right now, not so much!

Seward Boat Harbor during a snowstorm yesterday, Seward, Alaska.

It has been a cold, snowy winter here in Alaska recently, and although we haven’t had near the snowfall that has put Cordova in the news lately, we have had our share.  Yesterday in particular it snowed extra hard blanketing the harbor with snow and ice.  So after doing a lot of shoveling, I grabbed my camera and cruised around town grabbing some images.

Downtown, Seward, Alaska.

Ke'e Beach at the beginning of the Na Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii.

A couple of kids playing on Ke’e Beach in Kauai.  This beautiful beach is at the beginning of the Na Pali Coast.

This was with my Canon 5D II and 24-105 at 67mm.  Exposure was 1/50 of a second, f/10 at iso 500.  The aperture of f/10 gave me the depth of field to keep the kids and the background both in focus.   I needed to bump the iso to 500 to get enough of a shutter speed to freeze the movement of the kids and the waves.  Like in my last post, I used aperture priority – but in this one I actually dialed down the exposure compensation to – 1 stop to keep the waves from being blown out, and the black rocks dark.  Goes to show, gotta always check the historgram.

Bull caribou, Denali National Park, Alaska.

This is one of the largest bull caribous I have ever seen!  This was from my fall trip to Denali National Park.

I often get questions about the settings I use for a particular image.  I’ll try to get better at including that information as it can be valuable for learning.

Here I had my Canon 7D with a 70-200 f/2.8 lens and 2x converter.  Great combination for hiking because of its light weight.  On this day we climbed way up into the hills and I was glad I wasn’t packing a large telephoto.  I shot this at f/5.6 and 1/640 of a second at ISO 800.  I prefer a lower iso with the 7D, but needed the shutter speed.

I was using aperture priority mode and had dialed up + 2 2/3 of a stop in additional compensation.  If that sounds like a lot of compensation, it is.  The bright sky really fools the camera, and I didn’t want a perfectly exposed rich blue sky with a silhouette, I wanted detail in the caribou.  So I dialed up compensation until I had detail in the caribou and didn’t worry about blowing out the sky.  Now as soon as the caribou came off the ridge and had and earth background, I had to quickly dial the compensation back down to zero.  That is something very easy to do with the big wheel on the back of many Canon cameras, I can do it very quickly without looking.  It is something I have even practiced so that it is second nature.  I think being able to quickly adjust camera settings on the fly is really important when photographing wildlife in constantly changing light and environmental conditions.

Sunset from Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii.

Another new one from our Hawaii trip – we just adjusted this last night.

I have to thank Jim Goldstein for the idea of sharing a look at my favorite photos from the previous year.

With it cold and dark outside, it is a nice time of year to stop for a minute to reflect back on the previous year.  The constant pace to produce new material usually has my attention directed towards the future, but when I take the time to look back, I’m always amazed at the wonderful places and experiences I have been blessed to have witnessed in the previous year.

I also enjoy seeing the make up of my favorites.  Are they landscape, wildlife, travel or adventure sports?  The division between Alaska and outside Alaska is always interesting.  This year it looks like Alaska wildlife seems to be featured the most prominently – not surprising as that is some of my favorite subject material.  So, here they are – click on the thumbnail to see a larger version:

TOP 10

Denali, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Great light, colors and subject – from my fall trip to Denali.

Brown Bear, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

This was from my Alaska bear photo tour last summer – we had a few great sunrises!

Seven Sacred Pools or O'heo Gulch, Haleakala National Park, near Hana, Maui, Hawaii.

Sunset at the wonderful Seven Sacred Pools from our Fall trip to Hawaii.

Dall Sheep, Denali National Park, Alaska.

On this trip to Denali I captured a few landscape images from this location – seeing and photographing a ram in such a beautiful setting was a real treat.

Enjoying Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii.

Something different for me that received a big response.

Spencer Glacier, Chugach National Forest, Alaska

This was from an over-night trip last summer into a place I love to photograph – Chugach National Forest.

Brown Bear, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska

Another one from last summer’s bear tour – already excited for next year!

Caribou in Denali National Park, Alaska

I had a very limited collection of caribou photos so it was one of the subjects I concentrated on in Denali this fall and I think it paid off!

Northwestern Fjord sunset, Kenai Fjords National Park, near Seward, Alaska

This was one of our overnight anchorages from my Kenai Fjords National Park photo tour last summer.

Field of Lupine at sunrise, Chugach National Forest, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

This was taken fairly near my home in Seward, Alaska.

Honorable Mentions

I try to limit my selection to just 10, but I’m never successful – so here are some more that received some serious consideration.

Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas, Nevada.

I do a fair amount of travel photography and considering this has already sold a number of times makes it a strong candidate for the top 10 list.

Brown Bear, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

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Brown bear, Chugach National Forest, Alaska.

I like both these bear images and could have had 4 in my top 10!

American Dipper, Chugach National Forest, Alaska

This is a challenging bird to photograph and part of the reason I like this image – plus, it is a cute little guy!

Burrowing Owl, near the Salton Sea, Imperial Valley, California.

Another really cool bird.

An un-named cactus forest, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.

I have been asked why I like to travel to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park every winter.  Here is one reason – today in Seward it was 5 degrees, in Borrego, 85. 

Rainbow over Kauai, Hawaii.

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Hotels along Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Two more from our Hawaii trip that I considered.

OK, that is enough!  I hope you enjoyed.

Chugach National Forest, Alaska.

This is a new one from last night.  If it looks cold and snowy it is because it was cold and snowy.    I think the temp was around zero and the snow was many feet deep.

Happy New Year everyone!

Winter sunrise, Bryce National Park, Utah.

I just realized I have never shared any photos of Bryce National Park – as my visits there predated my blog.  That is a shame – walking up to the rim and looking down into Bryce for the first time is an amazing experience not unlike the first visit to the Grand Canyon.

This was back in 2004 and we were actually in Southern California when news reports predicted  a large winter storm would soon hit the West.  We got up early and drove straight to Bryce barely beating the storm and successfully getting snowed in for two days.  It was beautiful having such a National Park virtually entirely to ourselves with a fresh foot of snow!  But, it was cold for camping with temps in the single digits – still, totally worth it!

This winter I hope to do the same thing with Yosemite.

Over the next two weeks I don’t think I will do much posting here on the blog since since this is such a busy time of year for everyone.  I’ll pick up the pace again after the start of the New Year.

A couple of cabins on Lower Summit Lake, Chugach National Forest, Alaska.

The continuation of an on going video assignment for an visitor center film had me out in the field all day yesterday, and with all the fresh new snow, it was sure a beautiful day!  When I came across this wonderful alpenglow at sunset, I had to grab a couple of “stills” – see I can even talk like a videographer. 

Here is what is looks like in the summer:  Summit Lake.