Alaska Brown Bear Photography Tour

Itinerary

Friday, August 21 (D)

Meet the group in Anchorage, Alaska. Group welcome dinner. Overnight at the Courtyard Anchorage Airport or similar

Saturday, August 22 (B, L, D)

Mid-morning departure to the lodge by charter plane. The floatplane flight is approximately one hour, with a beach landing during low tide or on a lake. We’ll be greeted by the lodge staff on ATVs with trailers, AKA the chariots of the north 🙂 After we get settled at the lodge and have lunch, we’ll venture out for our first photo opportunities with the bears. We’ll spend five nights at the bear lodge.

Sunday, August 23 – Wednesday, August 26 (B, L, D)

Four full days of bear viewing! Each day, after a hearty breakfast, we’ll travel by foot or hop onto an ATV with a trailer to locate the bears that are often near the lodge. These unstressed bears usually appear to be somewhat uninterested and rarely pay attention to our presence. The landscape is vast and wild, providing beautiful backdrops for images. We may also be fortunate enough to photograph puffins, kittiwakes, bald eagles, and foxes.

Photographing the bears usually revolves around the tides, light, and weather conditions. This is the perfect time of year to photograph the big male bears chasing salmon through the rivers. We will regularly see moms with cubs. However, they keep their distance from the individual males. Nothing will prepare you for the feeling you receive when you encounter these magnificent bears just yards away…

We call Alaskan brown bears “fat and happy bears.” They feast on salmon and clams and do not struggle like other bears who need to forage for berries, roots, and tubers. They learn to live near each other and usually do not see people as a threat or a meal!

Fishing between photo excursions is possible. Each guest can have their salmon cleaned and packaged to take home with them.

Dan will be there for anyone who has questions about camera settings, digital workflow, or anything else related to photography. We’ll return to the lodge for lunch and have some time to download cards or rest before heading back into the field to photograph in the late afternoon. A great dinner will be waiting when we return, perhaps fresh salmon or halibut. We finish the days with a good night’s sleep.

Thursday, August 27 (B)

Today, we’ll return to Anchorage by floatplane, departing at around 10:00 am. We’ll have a group day room available in Anchorage. Many flights leave hourly from Anchorage, including late evening flights to the lower 48. We suggest an evening/midnight departure in case of any bad weather delays during the charter flight.