A bear pounds the river-mouth for salmon at sunrise under a watchful bald eagle
Here’s another update from the wild west of Alaska, where bears and volcanoes outnumber people by a long-shot. This year we have completed 8 Natural Habitat Kodiak-Katmai Grizzly Expeditions, and all where life-long highlights for our travelers. How can you beat being on eye level with some of the largest, most beautiful and human tolerant bears on earth? The salmon were 2 weeks late all over the state, but we still had great bear viewing before the fish came in. When they did arrive, all were thankful!
a large female grizzly brings a starry flounder she caught in the river delta to shore
Two beautiful female grizzlies wait in the river for salmon on a golden evening in Katmai
Coastal grizzly at sunrise
Photographers must be able to take advantage of situations when the bears walk between you and the sun. As long as you expose for the sky and not the bear, and let the bear become a silhouette, it can make for an amazing image.
Flounder for breakfast, sunrise on the beach.
A large female grizzly (I call her Melissa after my wife), eats a salmon with a glacier in the background
“Make prayers to the raven”
I love ravens, especially when they interact with large predators. Read more about ravens from one of my earlier posts by CLICKING HERE.
Alaska is utterly amazing. I am so thankful to live in a time where I can explore and appreciate such an awesome frontier where the land and the animals are as they have always been. It has been yet another amazing summer. Love those bears! More to come soon….
2 Comments
Hi Brad, glad to be be-friended with you on FC to enjoy your superb photos. Lenka and I just had 3-days together in Los Angeles watching Curiosity land on Mars and seeing Andrea again — while I drove TO&FROM Albuquerque stopping at Toroweap and Grand Falls of the Little Colorado where you would have a photographic “Ball” at both.
Lenka & I are meeting in Denver Sept 30th and spending 2-weeks seeing Yellowstone & Grand Tetons together which we’ll enjoy while planning future trips.
NOTE: While not a “frontier” like Alaska, I have a Bald Eagle on a tall-dead oak viewable from my yard and we have more deer and black bears than we can handle sometimes here — 10 largest bears killed in last year’s hunting season in PA all weighted over 600-lbs.
Hi Brad,
We traveled with you last July to Katmai. I just wanted to ask if Scout is doing well. I haven’t seen you mention him this year. I loved that young bear! I have a framed photograph of him all alone in the meadow eating the sedge grass. I think of him often and of our unforgettable memories of the bears of Katmai National Park. Thank you for giving us an amazing experience with these wonderful creatures and sharing your knowledge and love for them with us.
Also send our hellos to Captain Mike, Tim and Carrie! They are the best!
Take care!
Leisa