On our 10 day river trip along the Nigu and Etivluk, we saw two grizzly bears, both of which upon noticing us, took off across the tundra. This is the kind of reaction one likes to see when encountering a bear in the wild. Well, sort of. Photographing bears in the arctic is quite unlike…
From my observations, young bears exhibit a mischievous behavior more often than adult bears. Chalk it up for play, curiosity, or too much energy–who knows why. This second year bear took a liking to the wood slats on the walkway to the bear viewing platform in Katmai National Park. Each year the park maintenance crew…
Brown bear and sunrise, Katmai National Park, AlaskaCanon 1Ds Mark III, 24-105mm 4.0L (32mm), 1/250 sec @ f/11, ISO 100 The versatility of zoom lenses is so appealing that I use prime lenses less often these days. However, they are notorious for lens flare and controlling that can be difficult. On this trip, I did…
Brown bear sow and cubs of the year, Katmai National Park, Alaska.Canon 1Ds Mark III, 400mm f5.6L, 1/500 sec @ 5.6, ISO 400 Katmai National Park in southwest Alaska is home to many Brown bears. These bears are larger than the interior grizzly bears mainly due to the protein rich diet of fish, although they…
Brown bears at play in the Brooks River, Katmai National Park, Alaska.Canon 1Ds Mark II, 500mm f4.0L IS w/1.4x, 1/250 @ f8.0, ISO 200 The brown bears that inhabit the Brooks river in Katmai National Park share temporary population densities far beyond their preference. They abide together in relative peace due to the extremely abundant…
Sleeping brown bear along the banks of the Brooks river, Katmai National Park, Alaska.Canon 1Ds Mark II, 500mm f4.0L IS, 1/13 sec @ f25, ISO 250 Wildlife photography includes lots of waiting. This is the non-glamorous attribute of the occupation. There are of course plenty of other attributes essential to the career, like persistence, logistics,…