Tag Archives: photo tours

Alaska Polar Bear Video

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Hey Folks,

I thought I’d share this video on my site here. I wrote the tune, a number of years ago, and recorded it with some friends in Atlanta, GA, when I lived there. Great musicians all of them, and it was a treat to record with them. I played the guitar parts.

The video and stills I shot in 2013 on my Alaska Polar Bear Photo Tour in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. One or 2 of the clips were shot by clients on the trip, and thanks go to Sue P and Munir K for their permission to use their clips. See my collection of stock polar bear photos here.

Cheers

Carl

Polar bear photo and sunrises

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A young polar bear on the prowl, silhouetted at sunrise, on the frozen ground of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Alaska. Polar bear, Ursus maritimus, Alaska.
A young polar bear on the prowl, silhouetted against a colorful sunrise, on the frozen ground of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Alaska. Polar bear, Ursus maritimus, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Everyone loves a great sunrise or sunset, right? And everyone loves polar bears; seriously, does anyone NOT love polar bears? So who loves the 2 together?

We set out this morning with high hopes, clear skies and the beginning of color on the horizon. Everyone hoped for a nice sky and some polar bear activity. Hoping, and getting are two different things.

So how does it play out? The sunrise turned out to be, in a word, spectacular. The morning itself, frustrating.

We found some polar bears relatively soon, but they weren’t really in a great location. On top of that, they were asleep. certainly, polar bears are so photogenic that even asleep, they make a great subject. But they were sleeping just below a short embankment, with the colorful sky above and beyond and so we couldn’t find a way to really make it work. One option might have been to shoot multiple exposures, steadily, and then blend the 2 together to properly capture detail in the foreground and the background. I shot a couple of images like this, but even as I was photographing, I knew it wasn’t really happening. OK stuff, but nothing grand.

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Favorite photos of 2010 | Happy Solstice

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Grizzly bear watching moon, Katmai National Park, Alaska.
A young grizzly bear (Ursus arctos, brown bear) sands along the shoreline at the Waning gibbous moon, fall, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks

Solstice already!

So, another year drips by, eh? And what a year it’s been! The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Katmai National Park, Denali National Park, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, etc, etc; Alaska is simply an amazing place to explore.

My favorite photo trip this year was undoubtedly the Grizzlies in the Fall Photo Tour. That being the case, I’ve selected my “photos of the year” from that trip. 2 great weeks of grand grizzly bears in Katmai National Park and Preserve, amidst the beauty of fall in Alaska. Unbeatable!

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Northern Lights photo

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The aurora borealis (northern lights) light up the night sky and a reflection glows in Dead Dog Hill Lake in the Mentasta Mountains, boreal forest, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
The aurora borealis (northern lights) light up the night sky and a reflection glows in the lake in the Mentasta Mountains, boreal forest, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another northern lights photo from Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. This one I tried my darndest to catch the reflection in the foreground, but the slight breeze thwarted my every effort.

I’m seriously considering buying the Nikon 24mm 1.4 lens, specifically for northern lights photos. The difference in shutter speed with that lens, versus using a 2.4mm lens, is enormous.

For example, this northern lights photo was taken at f.28 and a shutter speed of 25 seconds. That means after the exposure, is then need to let the camera effectively take another 25 second exposure for noise reduction .. meaning the total time elapsed is 50 seconds. That’s a lot of time to be not shooting. it also means, with that long exposure, the lights tend to wash out a little, and lose definition that comes with a faster shutter speed.

Conversely, if you happen to be suffering from Strep throat induced diarrhea, the longer exposure can work to your benefit; you’ll certainly not be in any rush for the camera to finish doing it’s business while you tend your own. Just say’n, cause trust me, it CAN happen! 🙂

On the other hand, a lens with max aperture of 1.4 is 2 whole stops faster ..

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New Grizzly Bear Images

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2 young grizzly bears fighting in a salmon stream. Rarely do real vicious fights break out, but when they, these well-armed opponents can do some serious damage to one another. Grizzy bears, or coastal brown bears (Ursus arctos), playfight in Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
How ’bout that for a left hook! 2 young grizzly bears fighting in a salmon stream. Rarely do real vicious fights break out, but when they, these well-armed opponents can do some serious damage to one another. Grizzy bears, or coastal brown bears (Ursus arctos), playfight in Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

I’ve finally added some new grizzly bear images to my website – after way too much time. I’ve just added nearly 250 new grizzly bear images from my trips to Katmai in 2009 and 2010. Check them out; some of the images have appeared on the blog in the past, but many of them have not; those photos are from this most recent trip.

So, how about this particular photo?

We were shooting 2 other bears when I saw this scuffle start to erupt behind us. Time to move and move fast, these little eruptions (usually) don’t last too long. So we shouldered the tripods and heavy gear, and moved quickly through the long marshy grass to be in position to shoot this ‘fight’.

Knowing what might happen is a big help when you’re photographing wild animals. It can make all the difference between being ready for something awesome, and completely missing it. (See my recent blog post on Expeditions Alaska about how often we miss).

We saw these 2 young bears playfight several times during the 2 weeks I was down there.

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Brown bear cub photo

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A young brown bear (Grizzly bear, Ursus arctos) cub. Brown bear cubs will stay with their mother for 2-3 years before venturing out alone. Brown bear cub, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Brown bear cub photo. A young brown bear (Grizzly bear, Ursus arctos) cub. Brown bear cubs will stay with their mother for 2-3 years before venturing out alone. Brown bear cub, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a young spring bear cub photo from the recent photo trip I led to Katmai National Park and Preserve. This youngster had 3 siblings, and it was a real treat to get to see them play and tumble together.

Catching a photo of one by himself, without the others in the frame, was more difficult than one might guess it would be. There were almost always other bears in the frame.

Last year, for some reason, there were not too many spring cubs in the area at all, but this year the area was home to quite a few. They’re such a blast to photograph, and oh-so charismatic. Each has his/her own character, and some of them are unbelievably plucky little critters. We watched one take quite a dunking from his mother, after he tried to steal a salmon from her. She grabbed him in her mouth, shook him back and forth like a rag doll, and literally buried him in the river. I thought ‘well, that’ll teach the little guy a lesson’ – Hardly! He came up growling louder than before, grabbed the fish in his mouth, and took off with it before his mother could even snap at him. They’re just way too cute!

These little baby bears are born in the dark of winter, tiny and defenseless. Their mothers-to-be enter a den in late fall, usually anywhere from late October through November. Brown bears almost always enter their den during a snow storm, or immediately before a snow storm. The theory most folks ascribe to is the snow storm will cover both the entrance and the tracks leading to the den, hiding both the bear and the den’s location.

Late January or early February, though sometimes as late as March, the cubs are born, blind and virtually helpless.

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A Big Month for Skolai Pass Photos

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Sunset over Skolai Pass, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Skolai Pass, the north end; Sunset over Skolai Pass, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Skolai Pass has rocked into March 2010. This month’s edition of backpacker magazine, which I wrote about earlier, has a full page image of mine from Hole in the Wall, accompanying an article about hiking the Goat Trail.

And this month’s edition of Popular Photography includes another photo from Skolai Pass by photographer Doug Roane, taken on one of last year’s Skolai Pass Photo Tours. Check out a large version of Doug’s amazing photo here. Better yet, take 15 minutes and browse the collection of images on Doug’s website. Awesome stuff!

Falls overlooking Skolai Pass and Russell Glacier - Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, AK
Skolai Pass, the south end; Waterfalls overlooking Skolai Pass and Russell Glacier – Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, AK. For a gorgeous larger version, visit Doug’s website at www.dougroanephotography.com

Doug’s photo was voted 2nd place in the March “Your Best Shot” competition. Huge congratulations Doug, a recognition well-earned.

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Grizzly bear and fall color

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A grizzly bear stands poised beside Brooks River, vibrant fall colors in the background, as he fishes for Sockeye Salmon. Katmai National park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

As I said in a recent post, on my recent trip to Katmai National Park and Preserve I really hoped to make some images that featured not only the great grizzly bears, but also the awesome fall colors of the boreal forest .

The Black Cottonwoods of the area provide the perfect background for photographing grizzly bears, but rarely do photographers seem to combine the 2. Most folks come up to Alaska and shoot the bears in the summer, and I think they’re missing out.

The classic shot of a grizzly bear fishing for salmon at Brooks Falls is nice, and only generally possible mid-summer, of course, but there are a lot of other opportunities around in the fall that can be equally exciting.

Great fall colors make stunning backdrops, and can really bring a vibrancy to the image. Stepping back, zooming out, and letting the scene dictate the photos is often the key.

In this photo I enjoy the sense of relationship between subject and environment – the dichotomy is largely only a function of our thought processing. The idea that the “environment” is something other than everything is a little peculiar; the subject IS the environment, as equally as the environment is the subject. There is really no difference between the bear and his habitat.

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Grizzly Bears in Fall – A Photo Tour

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Grizzly bear, or brown bear, in fall foliage, Katmai National Park, Alaska.

Fat Bears in the Fall.

Updated Jan, 2026

That 2010 photo tour idea I mentioned below? It happened. And it’s been happening every fall since.

This last year’s trip wrapped up a few weeks ago and it was one of the better ones. The group was solid, the weather cooperated more than it usually does, and the bears delivered. We had consistent action throughout the week, with bears fishing, sparring, and doing all the things that make these trips worth the long days.

Everyone came home with keepers. A few people nailed shots that’ll anchor their portfolios for years. That’s the goal, and it doesn’t always come together this cleanly, so you appreciate it when it does.

The format has evolved over the years but the core remains the same. Small group, remote camp, long hours on the water and along the banks. No crowds, no viewing platforms, no competing for position with forty other photographers. Just bears and fall color and the kind of quiet that only exists when you’re a float plane ride from the nearest road. I’m already booking for next fall. If this kind of trip interests you, reach out sooner than later. These fill up.

Sorry for the delay (again) in posting here. I’ve been busy the last 2 weeks, trying to photograph grizzly bears. I just returned, 24 hours ago, from a trip to Katmai National Park, where I focused on trying to get some grizzly bear photos that were different to what I’d shot in the past. Here’s the first of what hopefully won’t be too many that you get bored with them.

Yes, it’s true – I took some time out to detour away from Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, when I promised myself not to – but the change did me great! One of the things I really wanted to focus on

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