Tag Archives: Ursus arctos

Grizzly Bears or Landscapes, Wilderness Discussion.

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A grizzly bear stands and looks over Naknek Lake at Sunset, toward Mount La Gorce, Katmai National Park, Alaska.

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” – Thich Nhat Hahn.

Hey Folks,

Well, with all the comments about landscapes versus bear photos on the last few pages, I thought I’d try a compromise. I know, I know, compromises end up pleasing no one, right? Well, so be it.

This is possibly the last photo I took on my trip last month, a sunset over Naknek Lake – I was hoping for some nice clear skies the following morning – and actually had a big sunrise – but then it clouded over, very soon afterward, and no good light was had for the morning shooting. Then I had to pack and get ready for the plane to come pick me up. The trip was all over too soon.

The photo is one exposure, so no real photoshop trickery – I even left the gull in the bay (@ Ron 🙂 ).

The real reason I wanted to post this photo was, honestly, a talk I went to listen to tonight, at a local bookstore, by a great Alaskan writer, Bill Sherwonit. Continue reading →

4 Grizzly Bears

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A digital composite of a grizzly bear sow and cub, flipped and doubled.
Click on the image above for a larger, more detailed version.

Hey Folks,

While I’m going through my recent images, I processed this one and thought I’d post it for kicks. It’s a simple computer trick, which even a cursory look unveils. All I did here was copy the image, flip it horizontally, and paste it alongside the original. I got a split second to shoot this scene, as the bears didn’t hold the position very long – another bear came by and the cub backed away from his nonchalant mum. I was thinking about the composite when I took the frame, remembering the shot I made a number of years back (on this page).

I don’t do a lot of this kind of photoshop trickery, but sometimes it’s fun. I’m interested to hear if folks like this image or not.

Thanks.

Cheers

Carl

Grizzly Bear photo

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An adult grizzly bear opens its mouth wide, teeth bared, Katmai National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

OK – all the whining about ‘no bears’ brings us back to the grizzly. This adult male was kind of enough to give me a few cool poses, of which I think this is one of my favorites. There’s little more to be said other than ‘bears rock’.

Cheers

Carl

“Survival of the Fittest … Fattest”?

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A well fed, big bellied male grizzly bear at Brooks River, Katmai National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

So we’ve all heard that ‘the law of the jungle’ is ‘survival of the fittest’, right? Well, that might need a little qualifying, perhaps. Seems that here in Alaska, Survival of the Fattest might work better. This bear isn’t the biggest, most dominant male in Katmai National Park – though he’s certainly well up the list. But … I dare say he’ll enjoy a good winter’s nap, starting in a month or so, and he doesn’t look so ‘fit’ to me. 🙂 Something tells me he won’t wake up hungry – that’s a helluva belly. And one of the miracles of it all is .. no cholesterol problems!

Cheers

Carl

Grizzly Bears in Fall

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

Hey Folks,

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 Continue reading →

Grizzly Bear, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska

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A grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) on the tundra in Chitistone Pass, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks

I apologize for the long delays in posting here – it’s been busy this summer, with backpacking trips, and I really haven’t taken the photos I was hoping to, either. Either smoke from numerous wildfires, bad timing, or bad weather have made the summer not a great one for me, photographically, so far. Hopefully that’ll change a little as fall approaches.

This is a grizzly bear that I’ve observed in the Skolai Pass the last few years – I saw him as a younger, immature or subadult, in 2007, again last year and this year back in July. Continue reading →