Hey Folks,
[: This is the Fat Bears in the Fall Photo Tour. Running 15 years now and we , every season.]
Well, the Alaska summer season has wound down, and I’m slowly getting back in to ‘office-mode‘ for the winter. I’ll try to write a ‘summer backpacking wrap‘ before too long, with some notes from the various trips we had this year.
In the meantime, I’d like to mention a trip I’m planning for next year, 2010, that I’m excited about. I’ll be leading a photo tour to Katmai National Park in the fall, after the backpacking season. We’ll basecamp in Katmai National Park for a week, and photograph grizzly bears, also called brown bears in coastal Alaska, all day long.
Fall Grizzly Bear Photography Tour in Katmai National Park
For those of you unfamiliar with Katmai National Park, the region is home to the greatest population density of grizzly bears anywhere, and also some of the largest bears in the world.
The bears feed much of the summer on spawning Sockeye and Silver salmon (and images such as the one above), with a bear charging through a stream, splashing up water as it races after the fleeing salmon, are just one of the fantastic photo opportunities that Katmai National Park holds the patient and hard-working photographer. There’s simply nothing like it anywhere else in the world.
Why Photograph Grizzly Bears in Fall
This photo tour is something I’ve wanted to do for a while now, and I’m super excited about this photo tour.
There’s nothing quite like being in the realm of the grizzly bear, and the opportunity to simply observe and be around the bears is worth the time and effort alone; and the photo opportunities are unparalleled.
What Makes This Photo Tour Special
Katmai National Park is a real treat for the wildlife photographer, so this is sure to be a great time. It’ll be a small group, no more than 4 or 5 photographers, we’ll outfit the camping gear, or you can bring your own, we’ll handle all the food, or you can bring your own; you have to bring yourself, your camera gear, clothing (more on this later), and the rest is up to the weather-Gods.
Trip Details and What to Bring
Another thing that makes this trip a treat is the time of year – we’ll be aiming for peak fall color season, giving us the chance to make some images simply impossible to do the rest of the year. The bears look better this time of year, being bigger (as much as a third to a half again heavier), with much fuller coats as they get ready to den for the winter.
Fall Colors and Peak Bear Viewing
I haven’t posted the trip to the site in the Trip pages yet, but that’ll be coming soon, as the office-mode takes place. The photo tour will be late September; bring your fleece jacket and hat, chest waders, a telephoto lens and a boatload of camera batteries and memory cards.
And yes, to answer your questions, we do recommend carrying bear spray when around bears. We provide it.
I’ll write some more about this as I get everything else caught up.
Use the Contact Form to reach out to us.
Cheers
Carl
