Nature Photography 3

Photographing Alaska’s Brown Bears 2019- Part 1 Flowers, Cubs and Glacial Backdrops

By · On August 1, 2019
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Late June and early july is the best window of time to see my favorite wildlife spectacle on earth- the mothers and cubs in their winter coats, with early summer flowers and snowy back-drops. Here is a tiny spring cub standing in a patch of lupines to get a better view..

Wow, what an amazing 6 weeks immersed in the bear’s world…. We had amazingly good weather, although much hotter and dryer than average, and many sets of mothers and cubs. Here are is a small collection of some of my favorites I took while guiding for Natural Habitat.

It was a thrill to see this family, that I have been watching since they were spring cubs. Now these two male cubs are in their 4th summer, but were still with mom. As expected with any pair of teenage boys, the sparring matches were epic.

Play fighting is a vital part of a bear learning necessary skills that it needs to defend itself throughout its life.

Bam!

A cloudy, wet morning is perfect for photographing bears. The even, diffuse light, and wet bear fur adds mood and texture.

One morning a big male moved into the meadow and sent both of these females with cubs unto the safety zone of “nursery hill.” This high rocky outcrop has always been used by mother bears, as big males almost never persue them onto the steep and narrow path. These two females have known each other their entire lives, and have developed a mutual trust.

Learning to rock climb….

This spring cub climbs atop mom’s head for a better vantage point in the tall grass. Notice the cub has milk on her lips from a recent nursing treat.

Wow.

Often the tall grass makes photographing bears difficult, but sometimes it can add magic to the composition. I use manual focus in these situations, and MF assist, and focus peaking (a red tinge appears on the parts of the image that are in focus) are fantastic tools to never miss a shot.

Team meeting. I like the symmetry in this one.

When observing a mother with cubs, I always remain aware of bears approaching. When other bears get close I tell my folks to stay focused on the mother, and be ready for a standing shot. It is always important to not be too zoomed in as to cut the mother’s head off, and be ready because they only stand up a few seconds.

My favorite shots have the bear either at eye level or above me, and have a unique background. I positioned at the bottom of a creek to get the glacial backdrop in the frame.

See the little guy under her chin?

I have never been so overwhelmed with amazing images as I am now after the last 6 weeks on the Katmai Coast. I have so many more to share in the near future- stay tuned!

Keep exploring! Brad


Brad has been a Natural Habitat Expedition Leader since 2005, guiding Alaska grizzly bear tours, Churchill polar bear tours, northern lights expeditions and China panda tours. His specialty is bear biology and ecology of the north country.

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3 Comments

  • Norma Broten says: August 4, 2019 at 8:39 am

    Absolutely magical photographs!

    Reply
  • Chris says: August 10, 2019 at 10:56 am

    I love the face of the cub being slapped in the bam photo. Classic.

    Solid photos by the way. Nothing better to do than looking at bear photos when you’re bored.

    Reply
  • Anubandh Gaitonde says: August 20, 2019 at 9:03 pm

    Amazing frames Brad. Truly one of the most defining moment for a Wildlife photographer is to capture a Mama bear with the Cubs and the Cubs playfully sparring at each other.
    I may be interested in doing a private tour sometime next year. Do you conduct private tours and what will be the expense if I am flying on my own to Anchorage

    Reply

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