Horned Puffin and Red Baneberry.
A couple of Horned Puffin and Red Baneberry from this past August.
Lake Clark
First year bear cub from June, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
These cute little first year bear cubs are like living teddy bears!
Brown bear in a field of lupine, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
I thought I would share another bear image from this Summer just because I love bears!
A sow nursing two cubs, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
Here is another one from August. Experiencing this behavior up close never gets old! This was actually on the grounds of the lodge I use for my Alaska Bear Photo Tours! We had returned to our cabins for a quick break when she showed up and began nursing! One of my guests (who will remained unnamed) was actually just getting out of the shower when he heard the familiar “purring” sounds the cubs make while nursing, and instantly knew what he was missing. It was some sight seeing him coming out of his cabin with camera gear in hand – wearing just his underwear! Witnessing this event was well worth the teasing from the group. 
I like how sows will often use their forward legs to make somewhat of a cradle to help contain her cubs – just like you see here.
It might seem strange to hear how she actually came into the lodge’s yard to nurse. You see, the sows and their cubs are vulnerable to the larger male bears while nursing. The males are not nearly as comfortable around people, or the lodge facilities, and often will keep their distance – except during the mating season. The sows have picked up on this and use it to their advantage. It isn’t uncommon for them to move closer to people when they are vulnerable like they are when nursing or sleeping. It makes for a wonderful treat for photography! Well, except when they are sleeping – they tend to sleep longer and harder when we are nearby since they feel safer.
If you are interested, we only have a couple spots left for next years bear tours.
It is such a privileged when such a powerful animal is so comfortable with your presence to share such an intimate experience as nursing first year cubs!
Got back last night from another wonderful Alaska Bear Photo Tour! We had a blast despite less then ideal weather. Both sets of spring cubs that we spent time with in June were still around and looking very healthy, and they were joined by a third sow who also had a set of first year cubs. The third set of springs cubs were offspring of Pavlov’s – one of the few bears out there who actually has been named and has been a favorite of photographers for years. This was the first year she had cubs and they were beautiful. It was fun watching this sow who I have spent so much time with over the years being such a good mom.
Speaking of my Alaska Bear Photo Tour – we are taking reservations for 2014 and have just 3 spots left for the August trip, with a couple more still available in June.
Tomorrow morning I head back out for my second Alaska Bear Photo Tour! Looking forward to seeing how little guys like this from my June trip are doing today. Also looking forward to getting caught up with friends – 4 of the 6 guests on this year’s trip were on a bear trip last year which is going to make this year’s that much more fun!
I don’t anticipate having internet over the next week – so look for new bear photos in a week or so.
This caught the eye of a photographer friend who was visiting last night – so, decided it was worthy of adjusting and sharing!
A young bear cub watching its mom open a clam. Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
By the way, we are now taking reservations for next year’s Alaska Bear and Puffin Photo Tour.
A Brown Bear appears to be looking at it’s reflection during my recent Alaska Bear Photo Tour.
Maybe not the best photo – but, it was so fun to watch this sow give her 6 month old cub a ride across the slough on her back! This little one seemed to enjoy the ride and managed to hang on for some distance – it was still there a few hundred yards later as they left the meadow!
I’m back from a wonderful Alaska Bear Photo Tour! We had a number of spring bear cubs – hard to find a more entertaining subject to watch and photograph the bear cubs! The weather was good, and the guests were a blast!
This was with a Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens with 2x converter at 335. ISO 1600, 1/640 of a second, f/5.6. Manual exposure set to over expose by about one stop – lots of white tends to cause the camera to underexpose scenes like this.
I’m really excited about my bear photo tour that starts tomorrow, but more on that in a second. A very unfortunate medical issue has lead a sudden opening for this year’s August bear tour. This one filled almost a year in advance, so this is a rare opportunity – if you would like reserve this spot or have any question please call.
So the reason I’m extra excited about this tour is it will be like a gathering of old friends! The people I have meet doing these tours has been the greatest reward in my opinion.
So for this first trip, I will be joined by Betty – this will be her third bear trip with me. Also Rawdon who will also be joining me for the third time on a bear trip, and was my roommate on the Antarctica trip. Then there is Andrew he was on last year’s June bear trip, my Borrego workshop and will be joining me on both bear trips this summer! Kathy, who was on the Antarctica trip. Natalie, who has been working with me this week. And finally, one person I haven’t meet. I’m excited to be reunited with everyone as I am to see the reported two sets spring bear cubs!
A Brown Bear cub nursing from its mom. It is not uncommon to see amazing moments like this on my Alaska Bear Photo Tour.
Since I don’t have anything available in 2013, and I have been getting many inquiries about my 2014 photo tours, we decided we better schedule dates for 2014! I know it seems like a long ways away, but every year they fill earlier and earlier!
So the biggest change is to my Southeast Alaska / Inside Passage Yacht based Photo Tour. Because bears have proven to be so popular, I have decided to position this to be a bear tour as much as it is a whale and amazing landscape photo tour. We are still going to be spending time in some of the best whale viewing areas in Alaska if not the world. We will also still visit some stunning tidewater glaciers – in fact we will be having a jet boat meet us so that we can get extra close to the icebergs and tidewater glacier in LeConte Bay.
But, we are now going to be spending time in some wonderful bear viewing places including the Anan Creek Bear Observatory where we will watch Black and Brown bears fish for salmon in a beautiful rainforest waterfall. We will stop at Neets Bay for a visit to one of the best Black Bear viewing areas in the world! And finally, we will be going to a bit of a secret Brown Bear location that my captain recently discovered. So now, I believe this week long trip gives you a great cross section of many of the amazing photo opportunities Alaska has to offer.
As the first person to charter this wonderful yacht for the 2014 summer season, I had my pick of the liter when it comes to dates, and I believe we will be going at the absolutely perfect time at the end of July – an extremely popular time here in Alaska! Follow this link to read more about my Bear and Whale Photo Tour.
Of course I’m also offering my two Alaska Bear Photo Tours to Lake Clark National Park. The 2014 season will be my 5th year offering this wonderful photo tour. I could go on and on about this amazing experience. Being up close to such magnificent animals is hard to describe with words it really is. That said, you can read far more about it here: Alaska Bear Photo Tour. You can also see a video preview I filmed during the August trip my first year of the tour.
Of course if you have more questions, please feel free to email or call.
We may offer some photo tours outside Alaska including my annual Anza-Borrego workshop – stay tuned.
An unexpected career change has just lead to a sudden opening into my most popular photo tour – this trip was sold out by last October! I already have a list forming of people interested in 2014!
Plus, thanks to an airfare war – I’m seeing some of the cheapest airfares to and from the Lower 48 then I have seen in years! So if you don’t already have summer plans, this just might be the perfect time to come to Alaska and experience these amazing animals up-close! To learn more go to: Alaska Bear Photo Tour.
This was very early in the morning during my June Alaska bear photo tour.
Not only did this location have some of the best lupine, but it almost always had at least one bear – except of course for this morning! It is still a pretty spot even without a bear feeding in the meadow – maybe next year we will see it all!
Details: Canon 5D II, tripod with 24-105 lens at 40, ISO 100, f/16 and 1/6th of a second. I believe I used a two stop graduated neutral density filter.
Seeing bears stand on their hind legs is another human like behavior that never gets old! Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
A brown bear feeding on grass sedges in the first light of the morning this past August, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
Image was with a Canon 5D Mark II, and a Canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens at f/5.6, 1/30 of a second at ISO 600.
I love how human like bears can appear at times!
This was from last summer’s Alaska Bear Photo Tour.
Recent Comments