Posted by Linda Deaton on October 30, 2008 at 10:42 PM
I'm looking for any recommendations for outfits that run bear viewing trips to Katmai, Lake Clark or Kodiak that cater to serious photographers. I'm planning a trip to Alaska sometime Aug-Sept 2009 and interested in spending 3-4 days photographing brown bears and will probably combine with a week stay in Denali. I have researched Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, Kodiak Treks, HalloBay and Coastal Explorer than runs the Katmai coastline and wanted to know if anyone had any experience with these or have other suggestions I should consider, particularly any that may be more affordable. I'm familiar with Brooks as well, but would rather find something away from the crowds and with a little more access to the bears. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Linda,
One of the popular ways to photograph bears is via a chartered bear viewing flight.
Check Out:
Emerald Air
Bald Mountain
Homer Air
Another bear viewing lodge is Katmai Wilderness Lodge.
You can also consider a bear viewing trip via boat charter, check out:
Alaska Bear Tours
Alaska Coastal Bear Tours
I do believe that NPN member Dave Taylor leads bear viewing tours visit:
www.sixtyonenorth.com
And don't forget Mcneil River, the permits for non residents are expensive, but the number of bears and lack of crowds is unrivalled.
Posted by Jim DeWitt on October 31, 2008 at 12:43 PM
Linda -
Enter the McNeil River Lottery. The odds of winning aren't great, but the opportunities there are off the scale, there will never be more than 8 people in your group and you'll have 6-8 hours each day to shoot. Backstop McNeil with Dave Taylor's Trip (or join the hordes at Katmai).
Posted by David Taylor on November 1, 2008 at 12:59 AM
First off, thanks to both Carl and Jim for the free advertising! Unfortunately, we are not currently offering any bear excursions next year. However, I have been discussing a new joint effort between us (Sixtyone North LLC) and Derek Stonorov (world renowned bear guide and naturalist) - hoping for a first try in the 2010 season. We are looking at doing a approx. 5 day bear tour to the Katmai Coast, it would be a small group of photogs, myself, Derek as the pro bear guide (it simply doesn't get any better than him), and a chef. We'd be staying in our own small tent city right on coast - protected of course by an e-fence.
Katmai is an amazing location. I have never had a bad experience there, but I choose my bear guides carefully. As you have said Linda, Brooks is great - however, it is shoulder to shoulder photogs, all vying for the same images, that one bear standing atop the falls catching a fish in its mouth. Photography has always been about capturing something special, "At the end of the day, we create something potentially significant that did not exist at the beginning of the day" - As Joe McNally said so eloquently. However, the bear catching a fish mid-air is no longer something "that did not exist at the beginning of the day". One of the things that I really focused on during our latest trip there this summer was capturing a new classic b&w view of the brown bears. Upon landing it immediately went against everything my brain was screaming for, the sedge grasses were easily the most lush plant life I have ever seen - it was a scene that begged to be shot in color. But, I am far happier with my b&w images when compared to my color interpretations from that day, because they were different - a view of Katmai and its bears I hadn't seen before.
McNeil looks like a great opportunity, but as Jim said, it is difficult to get in. I've got friends and peers that have been trying their entire career to get in there - but once they do, it is often described as an amazing opportunity, and "once in a lifetime".
As I mentioned in my email - I think your best bet would be at SIlver Salmon Creek. You can do a shorter trip there and maximize your opportunities with the bear. Keep in mind though, the Fall of the year has traditionally been "wet"/rainy, so dress (yourself and camera gear) accordingly. Hope this helps, where ever you go in Alaska - you are likely to see something amazing at every turn. We (the residents and photogs) are truly some of the luckiest on the planet.
ps - you've got a great resource here on this forum. People like Carl (both Donohue and Battreal), Jim, Ron Niebrugge and many more of course, are highly skilled, intelligent, and well travelled photogs - not to mention gracious in their knowledge. These are the people that I continue to go back to for my research and inspiration, and I have never been disappointed - you'll have similar results.
Hope everyone is gonna get out and get some great aurora images tonight - it's gonna be clear here in SC Alaska!
Posted by Sean Watson on November 10, 2008 at 5:52 AM
Hi Linda,
My wife and I stayed with Hallo Bay last June and had an amazing time. At least when we were there, there was pretty simple rhythm to the camp. Eat breakfast, grab a lunch, walk out to "Nancy's Meadow", watch the bears, head back to camp, have dinner, head back out to the meadow, watch the bears some more, head back to camp. Repeat. I understand that as the bears vary their behavior, the guides do different things.
There were about 10 guests at the camp and 5 staff (2 guides, a camp manager, a cook, and someone to help out around camp). The owner was there with some of her personal guests as well, but we didn't really interact much with them. The guides would generally go out with 5 guests (typically broken out by fast hikers and not so fast hikers). At any point, maybe half the guests were serious photographers. While I had to sometimes "shoot around" other guests, it never felt crowded.
In the 5 days we were there, we saw 3 sows and 4 cubs pretty much every day. There were about 3 "sub-adults" (not yet breeding age, but too old to be with their mothers -- hard to identify) we saw most days, and we briefly saw boars maybe 2 days. Most of the time, the bears were eating sedge in the meadow. Sometimes they'd dig up clams. The first 3 days we were there, there were fresh wolf prints on the beach and we saw a fox on 2 occasions. We saw a number of bald eagles too.
The bears certainly knew we were there. Usually, they didn't care, but sometimes they got curious and would "wander" up to us. Depending on how the guide felt with the situation, (how comfortable the group was, how predictable the bears were, how good visibility was, etc), the guide would often let the bears get quite close. The guides would let this happen up to a point and then either have the group leave or deter the bear (via posture and voice). Of course, the last thing you want to do is run from a bear, it's ultimately up to the bear how close they get. I was two steps off the trail as a subadult charged out of the meadow to make room for a different bear.
I get the feeling we were really lucky with weather. Our first attempt to fly from Homer to Katmai failed because the pilot needed VFR rules and there was too much fog. We tried again that same day and made it. While we were there, we had maybe 15 MPH wind and light rain (but mostly it was fair and warm). Our flight from Katmai to Homer was fine. And we spent 3 days kayaking near Homer. On the flight back to Anchorage, we saw some of the other guests from the camp who were flying home standby because they were weathered in at Katmai for 3 days. To put it mildly, I'm pretty sure they didn't have ideal shooting conditions while they were stuck there.
The camp has a number of nearly permanent tents. (Weatherized canvas over a steel frame over a plywood floor. Stove. 2 cots, and a couple of tables.) There is a galley tent also. There are 2 latrines and 2 showers (with hot water!). It has solar/wind generators, but they turn off the turbines at night. That means there is limited time when you can charge camera/laptop batteries. Because of the number of images I shot, I really didn't have the power to review my images on the laptop. I pretty much dumped my images (and my wife's) on the laptop ran the batteries down every night.
Because of the weight limit in flying, I left my 500 and 200-400 at home and took a 200/F2 (my wife took her 300/F2.8). There are times I wished I had longer glass, but in retrospect, I had plenty of opportunities with the 200 (and TCs). My wife shot her 70-200 F/2.8 a lot because she didn't like hiking out there with the 300 (and she got good results).
Hope this helps,
Sean
Posted by Thomas Dillon on November 19, 2008 at 7:22 PM
I spent two nights and about two days at Silver Salmon Creek Lodge in July, and got some great photos. (www.tranquilphoto.com). The lodge was nice, the food was fantastic, and the bears definitely cooperated. Habituated to humans, they let us approach to within 75 feet or so, as long as we were approaching on a diagonal. Some of the cubs came within 12 feet of us, and their mothers didn't mind. In fact, the sows often approached the groups of photographers when there were boars nearby. They seemed to know that the boars tended to stay away from humans, and therefore approached us to keep their spring and yearling cubs safer. I had my own guide for half a day, just for myself, and it was great. The single bear that approached to within 12 feet was a 3- or 4-year old that was "pushing to test." No problem. If my wife had been there, she'd have needed a fresh pair of pants, but we were fine. I highly recommend David Coray and his entire operation for fun, friendly staff, professionalism, great food, and lots of bears. I think I photographed 27 different adults and cubs in 2 days. Hope this helps.
Posted by Ron Niebrugge on March 9, 2009 at 11:31 PM
I spent a few nights at Silver Salmon Lodge last summer - it was a great experience. David and his family, and staff provide a first class experience, and the photo opportunities were numerous. These were all capture there: Lake Clark National Park Photos
Discussion
6 repliesLinda,
Western NC
One of the popular ways to photograph bears is via a chartered bear viewing flight.
Check Out:
Emerald Air
Bald Mountain
Homer Air
Another bear viewing lodge is Katmai Wilderness Lodge.
You can also consider a bear viewing trip via boat charter, check out:
Alaska Bear Tours
Alaska Coastal Bear Tours
I do believe that NPN member Dave Taylor leads bear viewing tours visit:
www.sixtyonenorth.com
And don't forget Mcneil River, the permits for non residents are expensive, but the number of bears and lack of crowds is unrivalled.
Enter the McNeil River Lottery. The odds of winning aren't great, but the opportunities there are off the scale, there will never be more than 8 people in your group and you'll have 6-8 hours each day to shoot. Backstop McNeil with Dave Taylor's Trip (or join the hordes at Katmai).
Katmai is an amazing location. I have never had a bad experience there, but I choose my bear guides carefully. As you have said Linda, Brooks is great - however, it is shoulder to shoulder photogs, all vying for the same images, that one bear standing atop the falls catching a fish in its mouth. Photography has always been about capturing something special, "At the end of the day, we create something potentially significant that did not exist at the beginning of the day" - As Joe McNally said so eloquently. However, the bear catching a fish mid-air is no longer something "that did not exist at the beginning of the day". One of the things that I really focused on during our latest trip there this summer was capturing a new classic b&w view of the brown bears. Upon landing it immediately went against everything my brain was screaming for, the sedge grasses were easily the most lush plant life I have ever seen - it was a scene that begged to be shot in color. But, I am far happier with my b&w images when compared to my color interpretations from that day, because they were different - a view of Katmai and its bears I hadn't seen before.
McNeil looks like a great opportunity, but as Jim said, it is difficult to get in. I've got friends and peers that have been trying their entire career to get in there - but once they do, it is often described as an amazing opportunity, and "once in a lifetime".
As I mentioned in my email - I think your best bet would be at SIlver Salmon Creek. You can do a shorter trip there and maximize your opportunities with the bear. Keep in mind though, the Fall of the year has traditionally been "wet"/rainy, so dress (yourself and camera gear) accordingly. Hope this helps, where ever you go in Alaska - you are likely to see something amazing at every turn. We (the residents and photogs) are truly some of the luckiest on the planet.
ps - you've got a great resource here on this forum. People like Carl (both Donohue and Battreal), Jim, Ron Niebrugge and many more of course, are highly skilled, intelligent, and well travelled photogs - not to mention gracious in their knowledge. These are the people that I continue to go back to for my research and inspiration, and I have never been disappointed - you'll have similar results.
Hope everyone is gonna get out and get some great aurora images tonight - it's gonna be clear here in SC Alaska!
My wife and I stayed with Hallo Bay last June and had an amazing time. At least when we were there, there was pretty simple rhythm to the camp. Eat breakfast, grab a lunch, walk out to "Nancy's Meadow", watch the bears, head back to camp, have dinner, head back out to the meadow, watch the bears some more, head back to camp. Repeat. I understand that as the bears vary their behavior, the guides do different things.
There were about 10 guests at the camp and 5 staff (2 guides, a camp manager, a cook, and someone to help out around camp). The owner was there with some of her personal guests as well, but we didn't really interact much with them. The guides would generally go out with 5 guests (typically broken out by fast hikers and not so fast hikers). At any point, maybe half the guests were serious photographers. While I had to sometimes "shoot around" other guests, it never felt crowded.
In the 5 days we were there, we saw 3 sows and 4 cubs pretty much every day. There were about 3 "sub-adults" (not yet breeding age, but too old to be with their mothers -- hard to identify) we saw most days, and we briefly saw boars maybe 2 days. Most of the time, the bears were eating sedge in the meadow. Sometimes they'd dig up clams. The first 3 days we were there, there were fresh wolf prints on the beach and we saw a fox on 2 occasions. We saw a number of bald eagles too.
The bears certainly knew we were there. Usually, they didn't care, but sometimes they got curious and would "wander" up to us. Depending on how the guide felt with the situation, (how comfortable the group was, how predictable the bears were, how good visibility was, etc), the guide would often let the bears get quite close. The guides would let this happen up to a point and then either have the group leave or deter the bear (via posture and voice). Of course, the last thing you want to do is run from a bear, it's ultimately up to the bear how close they get. I was two steps off the trail as a subadult charged out of the meadow to make room for a different bear.
I get the feeling we were really lucky with weather. Our first attempt to fly from Homer to Katmai failed because the pilot needed VFR rules and there was too much fog. We tried again that same day and made it. While we were there, we had maybe 15 MPH wind and light rain (but mostly it was fair and warm). Our flight from Katmai to Homer was fine. And we spent 3 days kayaking near Homer. On the flight back to Anchorage, we saw some of the other guests from the camp who were flying home standby because they were weathered in at Katmai for 3 days. To put it mildly, I'm pretty sure they didn't have ideal shooting conditions while they were stuck there.
The camp has a number of nearly permanent tents. (Weatherized canvas over a steel frame over a plywood floor. Stove. 2 cots, and a couple of tables.) There is a galley tent also. There are 2 latrines and 2 showers (with hot water!). It has solar/wind generators, but they turn off the turbines at night. That means there is limited time when you can charge camera/laptop batteries. Because of the number of images I shot, I really didn't have the power to review my images on the laptop. I pretty much dumped my images (and my wife's) on the laptop ran the batteries down every night.
Because of the weight limit in flying, I left my 500 and 200-400 at home and took a 200/F2 (my wife took her 300/F2.8). There are times I wished I had longer glass, but in retrospect, I had plenty of opportunities with the 200 (and TCs). My wife shot her 70-200 F/2.8 a lot because she didn't like hiking out there with the 300 (and she got good results).
Hope this helps,
Sean
Have fun,
Ron
Thanks for the kind words Dave!